US Indexes sift higher as Trump declaws trade tariffs

• Equities react positively to Trump's softened tariff stance.
• Gains were limited as tariff exemptions came in at expectations.

Market-wide fears of trade wars spurred on by Donald Trump's broad import tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum are subsiding today after markets have been on edge all week following the tariff announcement last Thursday.

US President Donald Trump signed his trade tariffs today that imposes a 25% penalty on steel and 10% on aluminum crossing the border into the US. Initially appearing hard-line and set to apply the tariffs broadly on all borders, Trump's tone notably softened when he signed off on the tariffs today, which come into effect fifteen days from now. Exemptions for Canada and Mexico are among the most critical walk-backs in the tariff bill, though the President has hung those exemptions on NAFTA renegotiations between the two countries.

Overall market reception to the tariff exemptions has been cool but did provide enough boost to the major indexes to end the day's trading on Wall Street on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose almost 94 points to end the day 0.38 percent higher, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P) climbed 0.45 percent into the close and the Nasdaq Composite lifted to capture 0.42 percent on the day.

DJIA Technical Overview

The DJIA ended the day on the top side, trading near 24,900.00 heading into the overnight session. The index has been struggling to claim new territory since falling off a cliff face in late January, and the recovery has been a shaky one. H4 charts show the equity basket caught in a triangle with bearish and bullish trendlines intersecting sometime by the end of the month, and the direction of the break (when it comes) will help to establish a longer-term trend in the index. Current support/resistance is coming from 24,425.00 and 25,050.00 respectively, while further boundaries lie at swing points at 24,230.00 and 25,425.00.