Stock Market Continues Its Recovery as Trump Floats Another Tariff Exemption

Published: April 15, 2025 by Omor IE

Key Points

Much like electronics, autos may also see a temporary tariff exemption.
The market volatility has started to subside as no new tariffs have been announced, and the trade war with China hasn’t escalated.
Big banks are seeing a boost in profits due to increased trading volume.

The stock market has opened green today as there have been no new major tariff announcements in the past few days. Instead, Trump could give automakers a lifeline. We’ll get into that later.

Wall Street is still pricing in existing tariff shocks, but things have calmed down significantly as tariffs are put on pause for most countries except China for three months, and existing tariffs on China partially affect electronics. Phones, laptops, and other major electronics imported from China will not have to pay a triple-digit tax for now.

On that note, the stock market hasn’t reacted negatively. There is slight optimism due to big banks getting significant revenue boosts from trading revenue post-tariffs. Consumers have also been resilient, and consumer spending has ticked up in Q1, according to both Bank of America and Citigroup. The former does not see a recession in 2025, though it does see slow growth.

Here’s a market update as of 10:00 A.M (ET) today.

The S&P 500 is up 26.81 points, or 0.5%.
The Nasdaq Composite is up 93.94 points, or 0.55%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 41.93 points, or 0.35%.

President Trump May Pause Auto Tariffs

President Donald Trump recently relieved big companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) after exempting electronics from tariffs. He could make a similar move with autos, as the companies here are taking big hits from tariffs.

“I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies with it,” Trump said. “And they need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here, but they need a little bit of time. So I’m talking about things like that.”

If autos are exempted from tariffs, the same excuse could be used for other industries to “give them time” to move to the U.S. The market will certainly welcome such a move.

The Canadian Finance Ministry announced a performance-based remission framework for automakers in the country to encourage manufacturing to stay. It will also provide a six-month relief from counter-tariffs on goods imported from the U.S. that are being used in manufacturing, processing, and food and beverage packaging.

Banks Raking in the Dough

Big banks have seen a significant boost in earnings from the market volatility. Investors have been pulling money in and out of the market, and the trillions in volume are generating fees for big financial institutions.

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) beat earnings estimates last week. This week, Citigroup (NYSE: C) did the same and posted $1.96 in EPS vs. estimates of $1.84 due to a boost in trading.