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Indexes up: Dow 1.2%, Nasdaq 1.9%, S&P 1.5%

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S&P March flash Composite PMI at 53.5 vs 51.6 in Feb

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Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) drops on brokerage downgrade

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Crypto stocks gain as bitcoin prices rise

(Updates for market open)

By Sruthi Shankar and Johann M Cherian

March 24 (Reuters) -

Technology stocks led Wall Street's surge on Monday after

signs the Trump administration is taking a measured approach on

tariffs against its trading partners.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is likely to

exclude a set of sector-specific tariffs that are on track to be

imposed on April 2, according to media reports over the weekend.

The three main U.S. indexes rose to two-week highs, with

investors scooping up battered technology shares. Nvidia ( NVDA )

rose about 2%, Meta Platforms ( META ) jumped 4% and

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) rose 2.8%.

Tesla jumped 7.3%, adding to Friday's 5.3%

rise.

"The market seems to be reacting in sync with those

up-to-the-minute changes in tariffs," said Peter Andersen,

founder of Andersen Capital Management in Boston.

"The default position for today's investor is to be very

worried about changes that the administration has proposed -

whether or not there are tariffs imposed or if he repeals them,

or if he delays them, it just causes extreme volatility in the

market."

Financial markets have whipsawed over the past several weeks

as traders have been confronted by fears of a sharp U.S.

economic slowdown after Trump announced a series of tariffs last

month on some of its main trading partners including China,

Mexico and Canada.

Several companies have also cited tariff uncertainty as they

lowered their forecasts for the upcoming quarters. Data compiled

by LSEG as of Friday showed, earnings of companies included in

the S&P 500 are expected to grow by 10.5% in 2025, down by 3.5

percentage points since the beginning of the year.

However, U.S. stocks appear to have found a floor after

weeks-long selloff that pushed the benchmark S&P 500 and

the tech-heavy Nasdaq down by 10% from their record

highs - commonly known as correction.

At 9:59 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

497.35 points, or 1.19%, to 42,483.81, the S&P 500 rose

83.12 points, or 1.47%, to 5,750.68 and the Nasdaq Composite

rose 331.02 points, or 1.87%, to 18,115.90.

Data

showed

U.S. business activity picked up in March, but growing

fears over import tariffs and deep government spending cuts

continued to weigh on sentiment.

S&P Global's flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index,

which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased

to 53.5 this month from 51.6 in February. However, a business

confidence measure dropped to the second lowest reading since

2022.

Investors are now awaiting a slew of data through the week

including the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index

- the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

Among other single stocks, Dun & Bradstreet ( DNB ) rose 3%

after the data and analytics provider entered an agreement to be

acquired by private equity firm Clearlake Capital in a $7.7

billion deal.

Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) fell 2.1% as BofA Global Research

downgraded the weapons maker to "neutral" from "buy".

Crypto stocks such as Strategy advanced 5.8%,

Coinbase added gained 3.9% and Mara Holdings ( MARA )

climbed 7.3%, tracking a 3% rise in bitcoin prices.

On the Nasdaq, 2,783 stocks rose and 1,030 fell as advancing

issues outnumbered decliners by about a 2.7-to-1 ratio There

were 35 new highs and 37 new lows.

On the NYSE, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones

by a 4.4-to-1 ratio . There were 20 new highs and 14 new lows.