Fedspeak is in focus as US equities surge on expectations of targeted tariffs.

Reports suggesting that planned U.S. trade penalties will be less severe and more limited than first anticipated helped allay some fears about their effects, which helped U.S. equities rise sharply on Monday.

Wall Street has been rocked by concerns over the Trump administration's tariffs in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the major indices fell to six-month lows as investors feared the tariffs would slow economic growth, raise inflation, and interfere with international trade. But according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg that surfaced over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to impose sectoral tariffs next week and is only planning to slap retaliatory duties on roughly 15 countries.

Although tariffs against significant U.S. trading partners are still anticipated to have an economic impact, their reduced scope gave investors some hope that the damage would be minor. Trump has frequently referred to April 2 as the "liberation day" for the United States.

"Targeted is obviously better than the alternative, but the trade changes being envisioned are still substantial, and it’s likely they will have negative effects on the economy and corporate profits, at least in the near and medium term," according to economists