Wall Street closes higher on trade outlook

The S&P 500 closed higher on Monday as investors remained optimistic about trade negotiations between the United States and its partners, despite President Donald Trump's latest move to double tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The S&P 500 gained 0.41% to 5,935.04 points; the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.67% to 19,242.61 points; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.08% to 42,305.48 points.

Trump said Friday he plans to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25 percent to 50 percent starting Wednesday, just hours after accusing China of violating an agreement.

China said on Monday that Trump's accusations that Beijing had violated the consensus reached in Geneva trade talks were "groundless" and vowed to take strong measures to safeguard its interests.

Washington wants countries to submit their best offer in trade negotiations by Wednesday, as officials seek to accelerate talks with multiple partners ahead of a U.S.-imposed deadline in just five weeks, according to a draft letter to negotiating partners seen by Reuters.

"Markets are viewing the latest round of tariff threats and the escalating rhetoric against China, the European Union, and steel as a spur to advance negotiations," said Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group.

Among technology stocks, NVIDIA (1.67%) and Meta (3.62%) posted strong gains on Monday.

Three days of absence

Mexican stock markets fell for a third day, awaiting local and U.S. data, as well as trade updates.

The Mexican Stock Exchange's main index, the S&P/BMV IPC, lost 0.24% to 57,705.48 points, while the FTSE-BIVA, of the Institutional Stock Exchange, fell 0.27% to 1,166.17 points.

Investors noted that remittances to Mexico stumbled again in April, dropping at a double-digit rate.

On the US side, both the ISM and the manufacturing PMI for April fell short of expectations, with the former even falling into contraction territory.

Although local stock markets have been relatively resilient to trade issues, portfolios also take into account that China responded to US accusations by accusing the US of violating its pre-trade agreement.

Fernando Rodríguez, an analyst at Invex, emphasized that Wall Street's stock markets will remain tied to advances in U.S. trade policy, and diversification will be a priority.