Wall Street shares end higher on Huawei reprieve

Wall Street rallied on Tuesday after days of losses, in a positive response to the statement from the United States (US) after it said it would temporarily relax on the restrictions placed on China’s Huawei.

After blocking Huawei from buying US goods last week, the US delayed the ban on the Chinese telecom giant, giving it leeway to purchase US-made goods to maintain its existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei handsets until August 19.

Tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index closed higher on Tuesday, up 1.08% or 83.35 points, at 7,785.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.77% or 197.43 points, at 25,877.33.

Broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.85% or 24.13 points, at 2,864.36.

Google and Huawei amid the US-China trade conflict

Global markets were thrown in a loop on Monday when Google said it would sever ties with Huawei to comply with the US ban. Late on Monday, the US commerce department said it would postpone the implementation of its ban for 90 days to prevent a sudden disruption to businesses and to allow for companies to adjust to the changes.

‘The temporary general license authorizes certain activities necessary to the continued operations of existing networks and to support existing mobile services, including cybersecurity research critical to maintaining the integrity and reliability of existing and fully operational networks and equipment,’ commented US secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross.

Observers suggest that the US has singled out Huawei as the “bargaining chip” to get leverage on the US-China trade talks, and some are concerned that China will soon retaliate by picking on US tech firms.