S&P 500 rises as investors shake off Trump's trade battles, Nasdaq gains 1% led by

The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 moved higher on Tuesday thanks to a strong gain in Palantir, as Wall Street tries to find stable footing following the latest developments on the global trade front.

The tech-heavy index gained 1.2%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 88 points, or 0.2%.

Palantir shares popped 26% on fourth-quarter results that beat analyst expectations and had hit a fresh record high. The stock was headed for its best day since Feb. 6, 2024 — when it rallied 30.1%.

Other big tech names like Nvidia were moving in sympathy with Palantir’s move higher. That stock rose nearly 3% during the session.

Tariff latest

The Chinese government slapped tariffs of up to 15% on U.S. imports of coal and liquefied natural gas and 10% higher duties on crude oil, farm equipment and selected cars, effective Feb. 10.

The move comes after the U.S. agreed to pause more aggressive levies on Canada and Mexico. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in a post on social media site X on Monday evening that Trump agreed to halt the implementation of tariffs against Canada for at least 30 days. Earlier on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that duties on Mexico imports to the U.S. would also be halted for a month.

Stocks are coming off a volatile trading session, in which the major averages made a striking turnaround after an initial global sell-off. Ultimately, the major averages ended Monday well off their lows of the day, but they still booked losses. The 30-stock Dow slipped 0.28%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.76%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2%.

“We are in a bull market fueled by a strong U.S. consumer and rising corporate profitability. Until something cracks with this narrative, I believe dips are buyable,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. “Investors should prepare for more market volatility related to trade uncertainty, but we think the overall backdrop for investors remains quite solid.”

Mayfield thinks that China tariffs will likely remain in place as they did during the first Trump administration, but this time around, the White House views “trade as a means to exert non-trade concessions.”