The S & P 500 index erased its losses during the year, and the rally in US stocks continued

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, with the S & P 500 erasing its year-to-date losses as lower-than-expected inflation data added momentum to the rally. The stock market move continued the rally of the past month, sending the S & P 500 up 0.1 percent this year. Rising trade tensions had already taken their toll on U.S. stocks before Trump announced the "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, as investors dumped U.S. assets and cut their expectations for economic growth, sending the index plunging as much as 15 percent. But traders flooded back into stocks on April 9 after Trump suspended reciprocal tariffs on most countries. Shep Perkins, equity fund manager at Putnam Investments, said, "The major trends of the past few months have reversed in an instant. The U.S.-China trade deal is a huge positive surprise. "