European shares gain after Trump pushes back planned 50% tariffs on EU

Trader Robert Oswald, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

HONG KONG — European shares have opened higher and U.S. futures also surged after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would delay a threatened 50% tariff on goods from the European Union to July 9.

Oil prices rose while Asian shares were mostly lower.

Trump announced the decision to push back the higher import duties after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who said she “wants to get down to serious negotiations,” according to the U.S. president’s retelling.

Last week, Trump said on social media that trade talks with the European Union “were going nowhere” and that “straight 50%” tariffs could go into effect on June 1.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 1.3% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.1%.

Germany’s DAX added 1.7% to 24,020.48 and the CAC 40 in Paris was 1.3% higher to 7,830.99.

Markets were closed in Britain for a holiday.

In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1% to 37,531.53, while the Kospi in Seoul picked up 2% to 2,644.40.

But most other regional markets declined.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 23,282.33 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 3,346.84.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,361.00.

Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.5% and the Sensex in India gained 0.5%.

On Friday, U.S. stocks fell as traders weighed whether Trump’s latest threats were just negotiating tactics.

The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to end its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%.

Apple dropped 3% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after Trump said he’s been pushing Apple CEO Tim Cook to move production of iPhones to the United States. He warned a tariff “of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.” if it doesn’t.

Trump later clarified his post to say that all smart phones made abroad would be taxed and the tariffs could be coming as soon as the end of June.

“It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product,” Trump said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair.”

Trump has been criticizing companies individually when he’s frustrated with how they’re acting because of his tariffs and because of the uncertainty his trade war has created. He earlier told Walmart it should “eat the tariffs,” along with China, after the retailer said it would likely have to raise prices to cover the increased cost of imports.

Deckers Outdoor, the company behind the Hoka and Uggs brands, became one of the latest companies to say all the uncertainty around the economy means it won’t offer financial forecasts for the full upcoming year.

Its stock shed 19.9%, even though the company reported a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled its financial forecasts for the full year, citing how more than half the goods it sells originate in China.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuit, which rose 8.1% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Stocks in the nuclear industry also rallied after Trump signed executive orders to speed up nuclear licensing decisions, among other measures meant to charge up the industry. Oklo, which is developing fast fission power plants, jumped 23%.

Trump’s latest tariff threats stirred up Wall Street after it had recovered most of the losses it had earlier taken because of the trade war. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 20% below its record at one point last month, when worries were at their height about whether Trump’s stiff tariffs would cause a global recession. The index then climbed back within 3% of its all-time high after Trump paused his tariffs on many countries, most notably China.

In other trading early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 43 cents to $61.96 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 40 cents to $64.61 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar advanced to 142.81 Japanese yen from 142.48 yen. The euro edged higher, to $1.1388 from $1.1367.

Jiang Junzhe, The Associated Press