The stock market bounced back from hefty losses on Wednesday, with all Wall Street indices finishing in the green territory after President Donald Trump announced that the US would pause the imposition of higher tariffs on 75 countries for 90 days.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that more than 75 countries have called to negotiate and have not retaliated in any way.
“I have authorized a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” he noted.
Following the announcement, the Dow Jones jumped by 7.87 percent, the S&P 500 surged by 9.52 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq soared by 12.16 percent.
Indices aside, 10 companies led the charge, predominantly those with a high international trade exposure.
In this article, we listed Wednesday’s 10 best-performing stocks and detailed the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.
A trader cheers his market gains. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
10. IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)
Shares of IonQ Inc. soared by 23.92 percent on Wednesday to end at $26.37 apiece as investors cheered announcements that it was one of the companies tapped by the Department of Defense to explore the possibility of building a useful quantum computer that can achieve utility-scale operation.
Under the program, IONQ and its 14 counterparts will work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to scale their technology toward creating a utility-scale quantum computer.
According to DARPA QBI program manager Joe Altepeter, the companies will provide “comprehensive technical details of their concepts to show that they hold water and could plausibly lead to a transformative, fault-tolerant quantum computer in under 10 years.”
Companies that successfully complete the first stage will move to a yearlong stage B, during which DARPA will analyze their research and development approach.
A final stage will follow, where the QBI independent verification and validation (IV&V) team will test the firms’ computer hardware.
9. ARM Holdings Plc (NASDAQ:ARM)
ARM Holdings soared by 24.20 percent on Wednesday to end at $106.59 apiece as investor sentiment was buoyed by President Donald Trump’s decision to pause from levying taxes on US imports for 90 days.
The move was beneficial for ARM, which designs and licenses intellectual properties (IP) for microprocessors and related technologies, as it would help provide short-term stability to the semiconductor market and smooth out any pricing pressures and operational challenges from the tariffs.
In other news, ARM was reportedly eyeing UK-based Alphaware for acquisition in a bid to secure a crucial technology for building its artificial intelligence processors but later axed the plan after initial discussions.
According to a report by Reuters, Alphawave, a supplier of semiconductor IPs, has been working with investment bankers to explore a sale after receiving an acquisition bid from ARM and other potential buyers.
8. Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT)
Reddit saw its share prices increase by 24.72 percent on Wednesday to end at $110.86 apiece amid the overall market optimism coupled with an analyst’s optimistic outlook on the company, saying it has the potential to grow further.
In its market note, Truist gave RDDT a Buy rating and a price target of $150, representing a 35-percent upside from its latest closing price.
According to the analyst, the upgrade was based on the company’s rapid growth trajectory, margin expansion potential, and differentiated position in the digital advertising sector.
Over the next two years, Truist expects RDDT to nearly double its revenues to $2.9 billion, supported by gains in its digital advertisements and monetization tailwinds.
Last year, RDDT was able to post a full-year revenue of $1.3 billion, representing less than 1 percent of the global digital ad market.
Meanwhile, RDDT earned a more pessimistic outlook from Bank of America after earning a Neutral rating and a lower price target of $110 from the $190 previously.
Another investment firm, Baird, also reduced its price target for RDDT to $125 from $185 previously, while maintaining its Neutral rating.
7. Entegris Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG)
Entegris Inc. saw its share prices jump by 24.73 percent on Wednesday to end at $78.48 each as investor optimism was fueled by President Donald Trump’s decision to pause taxes on US imports.
ENTG, which has manufacturing and research facilities in various countries across North America, Europe, and Asia, is set to benefit from the 90-day tariff pause as it would help provide short-term stability to the semiconductor market and smooth out any pricing pressures and operational challenges from the tariffs.
Entegris is a leading supplier of advanced materials and process solutions for the semiconductor, life sciences, and other high-tech industries. This includes solutions such as purifying filters, liquid systems, gas systems, and advanced liquid, gaseous, and solid precursors, among others.
6. Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR)
Strategy Inc., formerly MicroStrategy, jumped by 24.76 percent on Wednesday to finish at $296.86 each, in line with higher Bitcoin prices, thanks to President Donald Trump’s decision to delay higher tariffs on US imports.
As of this writing, the price of Bitcoin was already up by 9.29 percent at $83,361.82.
Just recently, MSTR suffered an investor selloff amid its recent pause in acquiring Bitcoins in the last week of March, opposing its usual aggressive stance in purchasing the cryptocurrency.
However, the week prior saw MSTR purchase 22,048 Bitcoins for $1.92 billion, marking their largest acquisition to date.
Last Tuesday, investment firm TD Cowen reaffirmed its Buy rating and a price target of $550 for MSTR over its $722.5-million fixed income offer that could bolster its acquisition of more Bitcoins.
According to the analyst, the issuance of non-convertible preferred shares was a strategic move that would allow the company to advance its Bitcoin acquisition strategy.
5. Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA)
Carvana Co. grew its share prices by 25.02 percent on Wednesday to end at $220.44 apiece as investors continued to snap up shares in the company following news that it would build a new mega site in Arizona and generate as many as 200 jobs.
“The Phoenix area is home to our headquarters and a significant anchor for Carvana and ADESA operations, so we couldn’t be more excited to expand our local capabilities and team here,” said CVNA Senior Vice President for Inventory Brian Boyd. ”Bringing Carvana Inspection and Reconditioning Center capabilities to ADESA Phoenix will drive additional speed and selection for our local retail customers and an even more robust offering for our local wholesale customers while also creating new entry-level and skilled jobs in the Chandler community.”
On Monday, JMP Securities reaffirmed its Outperform rating for CVNA and a price target of $340, given the company’s ongoing expansion efforts, which include the integration of ADESA sites as a key driver for its growth.
CVNA has been actively integrating ADESA’s physical auction sites into its operations. At present, it was able to successfully integrate six out of 56 ADESA locations.
4. United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)
Shares of United Airlines increased by 26.14 percent on Wednesday to end at $70.83 apiece as investor sentiment was largely buoyed by an overall market optimism, boosting consumer confidence that the travel industry is heavily reliant on.
UAL traded higher in line with its peers after President Donald Trump decided to give a 90-day pause to tariffs on 75 countries that had reached out to negotiate.
Immediately following the announcement, Goldman Sachs withdrew its earlier call that the US economy would tip into recession this year.
In other news, UAL announced plans earlier this month that it would expand its route offerings to Southeast Asian countries including Thailand (via Bangkok), Vietnam (via Ho Chi Minh), and the Philippines (via Manila).
Additionally, it is also expected to ramp up flights to Hong Kong and Australia (via Adelaide).
3. MicroChip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP)
Microchip Technology saw its share prices rally by 27.05 percent on Wednesday to end at $44.90 apiece as investor sentiment was largely buoyed by the US decision to pause from raising tariffs on 75 countries, fueling hopes for higher demand for chips.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he decided to pause “effective immediately” the imposition of higher tariffs on 75 countries that reached out for renegotiations.
However, he further increased the US taxes on Chinese goods to a whopping 125 percent.
MCHP is expected to benefit from the recent pause as it would help bolster demand for its products during the 90-day delay.
Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, MCHP is a company engaged in supplying smart, connected, and secure embedded solutions to more than 125,000 customers across various industries.
2. VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC)
VF Corporation jumped by 27.52 percent on Wednesday to end at $12.42 apiece as buying appetite was buoyed by overall market optimism.
VFC designs, manufactures, and markets branded apparel such as The North Face, Timberland, Vans, Dickies, Jansport, and Kipling. It currently owns various facilities globally, including China, Mexico, and Canada, all of which have been slapped with higher taxes by President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump decided to pause for 90 days the imposition of higher tariffs on 75 countries that reached out to renegotiate, fueling hopes for companies with international presence, including VFC.
In recent news, VFC said that it would continue to install new concept stores for its Kipling brand this year, which has been adapted for travel-retail gondolas.
“With Kipling, we are continuously expanding our international presence, with a steadily growing business in the Americas,” said VFC Director Thomas Falcy.
“Our presence in South American airports has been expanding significantly, and we will continue to fuel and strengthen this growth. We are also looking to enhance our presence in North American airports, as we see a major development opportunity there, driven by Kipling’s domestic success and international appeal,” he added.
1. RH (NYSE:RH)
RH soared by 28.57 percent on Wednesday to end at $192.03 apiece amid the overall market optimism.
RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, sources a significant chunk of its supplies from Vietnam. With President Donald Trump’s decision to pause the imposition of tariffs on 75 countries for 90 days, investors hoped that companies with a high international trade exposure, such as RH, would benefit from higher demand and smoother supply.
It can be recalled that on Friday, RH already announced a more optimistic outlook following Trump’s recent announcement that he had a “productive” call with Vietnam’s To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party.
“Just had a very productive call with To Lam … who told me that Vietnam wants to cut their tariffs down to zero if they are able to make an agreement with the US. I thanked him on behalf of our country, and said I look forward to a meeting in the near future,” he said.
If the president responds in kind, RH said its resourcing to Vietnam would be accretive to its margins.
“The company has been operating with 25 percent tariffs from China since the last Trump administration and has successfully resourced the majority of its China production to Vietnam at significantly better than pre-tariff landed China pricing. In addition, the company has successfully resourced a meaningful amount of its China production to its own factory in North Carolina,” RH said.
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