S&P 500 INDEX (SPX) Live: Markets Soar Amid ‘Total Reset’ With China

By Gerelyn Terzo Updated May 12, 2:31PM EDT · Published May 12, 10:29AM EDT

Key Points

The Trump Administration and China officials were able to navigate a trade deal over the weekend, resulting in lower tariffs and paving the way for a stock market rally.
The broader market is gaining 2.5% as Merger Monday makes an appearance to further bolster bullish sentiment.

Live Updates

Goldman's Warning

May 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM EDT | Gerelyn Terzo

Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs believes there’s still another shoe yet to drop in the trade wars despite progress made between the White House and Beijing. The analyst firm wrote:

“The large reduction in the U.S. tariff rate on China should only have a limited impact on the overall U.S. effective tariff rate. After accounting for a reduction of that magnitude, the full set of U.S. tariffs would still be considerably higher and broader than expected by markets at the start of the year.”

Winners & Losers

May 12, 2025 at 12:12 PM EDT | Gerelyn Terzo

With today’s market rally, the S&P 500 has narrowed its year-to-date declines to 1.3%. Within the S&P 500, today’s biggest gainers include NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG | NRG Price Prediction), up 23%, Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK), up 14.4%, and Microchip Tech (Nasdaq: MCHP), up 11.2%. Among the biggest losers of today’s session include Cigna Group (NYSE: CI), down 6.7%, Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), down 6.2%), and CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), down 4.6%.

Stock Market Movers

May 12, 2025 at 10:30 AM EDT | Gerelyn Terzo

NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is climbing higher by 14% today after reporting better-than-anticipated Q1 earnings results. In a bullish sign for natural gas, NRG also revealed it would buy the LS Power Portfolio in a whopping $12 billion deal.

Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) is shaving 5% off its value on a declining gold price as investors exit the precious metal for equities in response to the U.S. and China trade talk success.

J.B. Hunt Transport (Nasdaq: JBHT) is up by a strong 10.2% today. Transportation stocks are often viewed as a gauge of economic activity.

Dividend stock Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is down 3.2% on the day.

Dollar General (NYSE: DG) is losing 5%.

This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.

Risk is back on in the stock market after U.S. and China officials were able to clinch a trade deal over the weekend, agreeing to lower tariffs from staggeringly high levels. President Trump has been dropping further details, calling the discussions a “total reset” with China, pointing to further business with the nation and the removal of trade barriers as a result. Tariff relief has ignited a 1,000-point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Technology stocks are among the top performers, sending the Nasdaq Composite soaring by 3.8% and the S&P 500 higher by 2.7%. The SPX index is tacking on 2.5% in today’s buying action. The S&P 500 index is now hovering back above the 5,800 level.

Magnificent Seven stocks have been at the crosshairs of the China trade tensions and are rallying on the tariff relief. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is targeting a strategic decoupling from necessities made by China, agreeing to suspend tariffs for 90 days with the nation except for a wider-based 10% levy threshold.

Merger Monday is back. KindlyMD (Nasdaq: KDLY) is up a staggering 573% after announcing a business combination with bitcoin investment firm Nakamoto, a company founded by President Trump’s crypto advisor David Bailey.

Here’s a look at the performance as of morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up 985.25 (+2.4%)
Nasdaq Composite: Up 650.17 (+3.7%)
S&P 500: Up 153.00 (+2.7%)

Wall Street Analyst Moves

UBS has reiterated its “buy” rating on Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) stock ahead of the tech leader’s quarterly earnings report but slashed the price target to $175 from $180 per share. Nvidia stock is currently hovering at $121 per share.

Jefferies has turned bullish on hotel stock Marriott (Nasdaq: MAR), upgrading shares to “buy” from “hold” amid strength in its business model that could lead to further gains in the share price.

BofA has reiterated Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) as a “buy” rating, suggesting its robotics business could be a catalyst for growth.

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About the Author Gerelyn Terzo →

Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.