Stock futures rebounded on Monday as President Trump and Vice President JD Vance sought to calm investor fears of a renewed trade war with China.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 400 points, or 0.8%, to 46,054, while S&P 500 futures jumped around 80 points, or 1.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed more than 400 points (1.5%).
Gold hit another all-time high at $4,099.80 an ounce, up 2.5%. Silver futures surged 5%, while Brent crude gained 1.5% to $63.68 a barrel.
Treasury markets were closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
Cryptocurrencies also rallied in early trading, tracking broader risk assets.
Trump said Sunday on Truth Social that “highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment,” adding, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! … The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”
The comments marked a swift reversal from Friday, when Trump threatened to impose a “massive increase” in tariffs and accused Beijing of becoming “very hostile” after it restricted exports of rare earth minerals vital to US industries.
Vice President Vance also struck a conciliatory tone on Sunday, telling Fox News that the US had “a lot of leverage” over China, but that “Donald Trump is always willing to be a reasonable negotiator.”
The remarks helped steady global markets after their steepest one-day tumble in six months.
Friday’s selloff saw the Dow plunge 878 points — or nearly 1.9% — after Trump canceled a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and warned of “potentially painful” tariffs.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both logged their worst single-day losses since April, wiping out the week’s gains.
Tech stocks with heavy exposure to China bore the brunt of the hit, with Nvidia, AMD and Tesla dropping between 5% and 8%.
The turmoil followed Beijing’s decision to tighten export curbs on rare earth minerals, a key component in clean energy, defense and semiconductor production.
Trump accused China of trying to hold the world “captive” by weaponizing its control of critical minerals.
His comments sent rare earth producers like MP Materials and USA Rare Earth soaring, while Chinese tech firms Alibaba and JD.com slumped.
Markets now appear to be betting that the White House’s latest tone signals a cooling of tensions rather than an escalation.
Traders pointed to recent moves by the administration to shore up North American mining projects — including last week’s US purchase of a 10% stake in Canada’s Trilogy Metals — as evidence that Washington is taking steps to diversify critical mineral supplies without reigniting a full-blown tariff war.
Trilogy’s shares jumped more than 200% after the deal was announced, as the company touted plans to develop massive copper and cobalt deposits in Alaska’s Ambler region.
The White House said the investment reflected a “renewed federal commitment to responsible resource development” aimed at reducing reliance on China, which currently controls about 90% of rare earth processing.
Monday’s rebound came despite continued weakness in Asia, where markets had yet to price in the US rally. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led losses, dropping 1.5%.
