Stocks Erase Losses From April Tariff Chaos

Stocks on Friday erased losses suffered in the days after President Trump’s chaotic rollout of tariffs in early April, bolstered in part by a healthy report on the labor market.

The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent on Friday, climbing back above where it stood before chaos descended on financial markets after April 2 — Mr. Trump’s so-called Liberation Day, which featured his most sweeping tariffs to date.

Friday’s boost to stock prices followed a stronger-than-expected report on hiring in April. But the S&P 500 has been edging higher for days — logging nine consecutive daily increases — as Mr. Trump and members of his administration raised hopes that trade tensions would ease, including by indicating they were willing to engage in talks with China.

Early Friday, China’s commerce ministry said in a statement that it, too, was considering holding talks with the Trump administration, but only if Washington canceled its tariffs on Chinese goods first.

The two countries remain far from any deal that would resolve their trade war, but even the prospect of talks has been enough to ease the worst of the anxiety that gripped investors a month ago.

“If the labor market holds up and the Trump administration walks back the most egregious tariffs, the economy could skirt a deep recession,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial.