US stocks surge during early hour as trade tensions ease

Major US equity indices opened with strong gains on the first trading day of the week on receding fears of a full-blown US-China trade war.

The sharp up-move comes after last week's steep losses, the worst since January 2016, and as investors cheered reports that the US and China were willing to negotiate tariffs/trade imbalances. Trade tensions would remain the key focal point for investors, in what would be a holiday-shortened week in observance of Good Friday. 

During the opening hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged nearly 500-points to move back above the 24K mark and the broader S&P 500 Index gained over 45-points to 2,635. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied around 135-points to 7,127, despite the recent concerns over data privacy issue.

Moving ahead, a handful of FOMC members are due to speak at the HOPE Global Forum annual meeting in Atlanta and would grab all the attention later in the day.