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Indexes up: Dow 0.25%, S&P 500 0.64%, Nasdaq 1.46%

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Drugmakers fall as Trump plans for pharma import tariffs

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Oil firms fall as crude prices plunge to four-year lows

(Updates after markets open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal

April 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes inched

higher on Wednesday as investors lapped up cheaper technology

stocks in a choppy session that remained centered on tariff

moves as China retaliated with more levies on U.S. goods.

Most megacap and growth stocks rose, with Apple ( AAPL ) and

Nvidia ( NVDA ) adding nearly 2.5% each and Microsoft ( MSFT )

up 1.2%. The tech sector was up 1.5%.

"The reflex to buy the dip is very strong and certainly the

wipeout you've seen in tech stocks makes them cheap relative to

where they were," said Chris Beauchamp, chief strategist at IG.

Despite the early gains, all three benchmarks were down more

than 10% from the levels seen before the reciprocal U.S. tariff

were announced last week.

China on Wednesday responded by imposing additional levies

of 84% on all U.S. goods from April 10, up from the 34%

previously announced.

As the tariff war escalated and hopes of concessions faded,

investors rushed to exit stocks, industrial commodities and even

government bonds.

The upcoming U.S. earnings season will offer more insights

about the health of corporate America as investors fear a hit to

economic growth.

"The longer this trade dispute goes on and the more it

escalates with one side adding to what the other side is doing,

it will continue to erode investor and consumer confidence,"

said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

At 09:52 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

94.72 points, or 0.25%, to 37,740.31, the S&P 500 gained

31.96 points, or 0.64%, to 5,014.73 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 222.93 points, or 1.46%, to 15,490.84.

Healthcare stocks fell 1.5% as drugmakers slid

after Trump reiterated plans for "major" tariffs on

pharmaceutical imports. Eli Lilly ( LLY ) was down 3.7% and

AbbVie ( ABBV ) 4.1%.

Oil majors Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and Chevron ( CVX ) fell over

1.5% each, as crude prices plunged to more than four-year lows.

The CBOE Volatility index - seen as Wall Street's

'fear gauge', hovered near its highest since August last year at

51.66 points.

Meanwhile, the tariff-driven turmoil prompted investors to

dump safe-haven U.S. Treasuries for a dash of cash, pushing

yields higher.

The yield on the 10-year note was near its

highest since late February, last at 4.356%. If gains sustain,

it would mark the biggest weekly jump since 2001.

Minutes from the Fed's March policy meeting are due later in

the day, while a consumer price inflation reading is set for

Thursday, which could offer more clues on the inflation

trajectory.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies also shed a bulk of

their premarket gains after China announced retaliatory tariffs.

The iShares MSCI China ETF was last up 3.6%.

Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) gained 6.1% as the carrier beat

first quarter profit estimates. The company though pulled its

2025 financial forecast and projected current-quarter profit

below expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.63-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 90 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded three new highs and 391 new

lows.