US stocks rally driven by retail investors, share buybacks

Investors will be keeping a close eye on tariff headlines out of Washington next week, as a temporary suspension of punitive import levies is set to expire. If that Wednesday deadline passes without an increase in trade tensions, it could prove positive for the markets.

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Negotiators from more than a dozen major US trading partners are rushing to reach agreements with US President Donald J. Trump’s administration by July 9 to avoid even higher tariffs, and Mr. Trump and his team have kept up the pressure in recent days.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump announced a deal with Vietnam that he says will impose a lower-than-promised 20% tariff on many Vietnamese exports. While the administration has teased a forthcoming deal with India, talks with Japan, the sixth-largest US trading partner and closest ally in Asia, appeared to hit roadblocks.

Investors have shifted from panicking about tariffs to relief buying, recently lifting the US stock market back to record highs, with corporate earnings and the US economy holding up better than many had expected through a period of dramatic policy change.