12:27 PM EDT, 04/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose in choppy midday trading Friday amid continuing sharp declines in government bond prices and the dollar as producer prices eased and the trade war with China intensified.

The Nasdaq rose 0.5% to 16,482.1, with the S&P 500 up 0.4% to 5,291.2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.4% higher at 39,739.5. The trio traded lower earlier in the session. All sectors except consumer discretionary and real estate rose intraday, with materials and technology emerging as the top gainers.

The US Producer Price Index fell 0.4% in March following a 0.1% gain in February, versus a 0.2% increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. After excluding food and energy prices, core PPI declined 0.1%, in contrast with the 0.3% gain expected and following a 0.1% gain in the previous month. PPI was up 2.7% year-over-year in March, while core PPI rose by 3.3% year-over-year, slower than their respective 3.2% and 3.5% February rates.

US Treasury yields rose, with the 30-year yield surging 5.3 basis points to 4.9%. The 10-year traded 12.3 basis points higher at 4.52%. Bond yields and their prices are inversely correlated.

The US Dollar Index fell 0.5% to 100.14.

Gold futures were up 2.5% to $3,257.21 per ounce intraday, after scaling a fresh peak of $3,263.0 earlier in the session.

China, the world's second-largest economy, said Friday it raised import levies on the US to 125% from 84%, retaliating against President Donald Trump's decision to jack up trade tariffs on the Asian powerhouse. Trump ordered lifting duties on imports from China to 125%, which increases to 145% if the fentanyl levies imposed earlier in the year are also included. Simultaneously, Trump announced a 90-day pause for reciprocal tariffs that his administration imposed on all the other US trading partners.

China's Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Friday that additional tariff measures on imported goods originating in the United States will be adjusted from April 12. "The imposition of abnormally high tariffs on China by the US is a serious violation of international economic and trade rules, as well as basic economic laws and common sense, and is completely unilateral bullying and coercion," the commission said.