US index futures higher by 1.5 percent on temporary tariff relief on electronics

Wall Street Futures rise up to 1.5% on temporary electronics relief.

Wall Street Futures were up 1.5 percent on April 14 after a rally on Friday, buoyed by positive sentiments over US president Trump’s exemption on a range of consumer electronics - including smartphones, laptops and PCs - from the 125 percent tariff on Chinese goods and a 10 percent global flat rate.

At around 5:15 pm IST, index futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were higher by over 1.6 percent, while the S&P 500 Futures was higher by 1.36 percent. Futures of Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.96 percent.

While tech-heavy Nasdaq futures are higher, the tariff relief on electronics is short-lived, as Trump clarified on Sunday that the items were "just moving to a different Tariff bucket," suggesting more changes could follow.

"Semiconductors and the whole electronics supply chain will be looked at under upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations," Trump posted on Truth Social. He also hinted that tariff rates on imported semiconductors will be announced later this week, stating, "Nobody is getting off the hook."

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick too said on ABC News that while electronics may be exempt from reciprocal tariffs, they are likely to be included under new semiconductor-specific levies, expected in the next one to two months.

Share of Apple Inc were higher by about 5 percent in pre-market trading.

US 10-year bond yield fell closer to 4.45 percent, giving up some gains of last week.

European markets have been positive, with the pan-Europe Stoxx 600 Index advancing 2 percent, supported by gains in technology shares. Germany’s DAX rose 2.42 percent to 20,867.94, France’s CAC 40 added 2.13 percent to 7,255.89, and the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 1.76 percent at 8,104.27.

The euro and British pound have extended gains with the dollar index slipping to its lowest level in three years last week. The dollar has continued its decline for a fifth day on April 14.

Asian markets too ended higher on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.18 percent at 33,982.36, while South Korea’s Kospi added 1 percent to 2,455.89, with tech stocks among top gainers. Tokyo Electron rose 1.4 percent, chip-testing firm Advantest jumped 4.9 percent, and Samsung Electronics gained 1.8 percent.

Domestic equity markets remained closed on Monday on account of Ambedkar Jayanti, with the GIFT Nifty trading 1.4 percent higher above 23,300 as of 5:40 pm on April 14.

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