Ellie is at the center of Season 2,

Of course, conditions could change quickly again, as Wall Street has seen all too often in Trump’s on-again-off-again rollout of tariffs. Big challenges still remain in the negotiations between China and the United States, and there is “no reason to believe that this will be anything other than a slow process,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.The U.S.-China pause followed a deal the United States announced last week with the United Kingdom that will

to 10% but will still require weeks to finalize all the details.Economic reports scheduled for later this week, including on inflation and sentiment among U.S. consumers, could also show how much damage the U.S. economy has already taken because of uncertainty about tariffs. But the mood was nevertheless ebullient across Wall Street on Monday, and gains were widespread.Stocks of smaller companies rallied. Their livelihoods can be more dependent on the strength of the U.S. economy than their bigger and more insulated rivals, and the smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index jumped 3.4%.

Apparel companies were also strong. Lululemon leaped 8.7%, for example. More than a quarter of its fabric came from mainland China last fiscal year, and a reduction in tariffs would mean a less-tough decision on whether to pass along increases to costs to customers or to eat them through reduced profits. Nike rose 7.3%.Travel companies jumped on hopes that lower tariffs would encourage more customers to feel comfortable enough to spend on trips. Carnival rose 9.6%, and Delta Air Lines climbed 5.8%.

Trader Niall Pawa, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Niall Pawa, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)The announcement for high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials this weekend in Switzerland helped raise optimism, but some of that washed away after President Donald Trump said he would not reduce his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods as a condition for negotiations. China has made the de-escalation of the tariffs a requirement for trade negotiations, which the meetings are supposed to help establish.

surrounding tariffs has helped create sharp swings within the U.S. economy, including a rush of imports in the hopes of beating tariffs. Underneath those swings, as well as surveys showing U.S. households are growing much more pessimistic about the future, the Fed said it continues to see the economy running “at a solid pace” at the moment.Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that gives the central bank time to wait before making any potential moves on interest rates, even if Trump has been lobbying for quicker cuts to juice the economy.

“There’s so much that we don’t know,” Powell said. So like the rest of Wall Street and the world, the Fed is waiting to see what will actually end up happening in Trump’s trade war and whether his tariffs, which were much stiffer than expected, will hit as proposed.That’s particularly the case after the trade war seems to be entering “a new phase,” Powell said, where the United States is conducting more talks on trade with other countries.