Stocks jumped on Tuesday, after Mr. Trump announced over the Memorial Day weekend that he would pause the implementation of steep tariffs on the European Union until July 9 to allow more time for trade negotiations with the 27-country bloc.

Stock futures are pointing to a sharply higher open for major U.S. indexes on Tuesday as investors react to the latest back-and-forth from the Trump administration on trade.

European Union countries backed plans on Tuesday to scale back the bloc's carbon border levy to cover just 10% of the companies currently covered by the scheme, on the grounds that these firms account for nearly all of the emissions involved.

The European Union has agreed to fast-track trade talks with the US in a bid to avoid President Trump's 50% tariffs — which, in an about-face, he announced would be delayed until July 9. On Tuesday, a Bloomberg report said that the EU's trade chief,

President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, hosted the president of South Africa at the White House and threatened more stringent tariffs against the European Union this week.

European shares extended gains on Tuesday, led by defence stocks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened additional sanctions on Russia, while relief from the reversal of tariffs on the region continued to boost sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) jumped about 0.7%, or around 300 points, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) shot up 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the averages to the upside, rising around 1.