China-US customs duties suspended: global stock markets rise sharply

In Asia, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange soared 3.11% around 7:40 GMT. In Europe, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange climbed 1.51%, shortly after hitting a new high during the session (at 23,911.98 points). Paris gained 1.23%, and Milan, trading at its highest levels since 2007, gained 1.92%. London, meanwhile, gained 0.63%. On the foreign exchange market, the greenback soared 1.10% against the single currency, to 1.1125 dollars to the euro.

On the oil market, prices were on the rise, anticipating a rise in demand for black gold. The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude rose 2.79% to $65.69, and that of West Texas Intermediate rose 2.93% to $62.81.

The United States and China will "reduce their punitive tariffs on each other by 115" percentage points, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a press briefing in Geneva on Monday.

The suspension is expected to take effect "by May 14," the statement said. "Stocks are rising after successful negotiations over the weekend between the US and China," said Susannah Street, head of markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

These announcements come after two days of negotiations in Switzerland between the Americans and the Chinese , on the thorny issue of customs duties which pits the two largest economic powers in the world against each other, engaged in a trade standoff since the imposition of prohibitive customs duties by Donald Trump.

Progress on the trade front between Beijing and Washington had been anticipated for several weeks by financial market players. "Shipments of goods leaving Chinese ports bound for the United States have fallen by 40% since April," Andreas Rees, chief economist for Germany at UniCredit, illustrated in a note.

Pharmaceutical stocks are "under pressure due to Trump's plans to order lower prescription drug costs in the United States," notes Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank.

In detail, the White House tenant announced that he would sign an executive order on Monday that, according to him, will reduce prescription drug prices in the United States by 30% to 80%. Donald Trump "does not want Americans to pay more than people in countries with the lowest prices," the analyst continued.