Shares of Danish shipping giant Maersk, a bellwether for global trade, posted substantial gains on Thursday morning, rallying after U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on higher tariffs for some countries.
Trump's temporary reprieve from duties does not apply to China, however. The U.S. president on Wednesday ramped up levies on goods from China to 125%, citing a "lack of respect" shortly after Beijing responded with retaliatory measures.
Shares of Maersk were up 6% at around 10:45 a.m. London time, paring earlier gains after climbing as much as 11% earlier in the session.
Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd, another global leader in container shipping, traded 7% higher.
An escalating trade war between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest economies, has been a major source of concern for the maritime and transport sector.
Maersk said in a statement last week that the tariff plan announced by the U.S. was "significant" and, in its current form, clearly not good news for the global economy, stability and trade.
"It is still too early to say with any confidence how this will ultimately unfold. We need to see how countries will respond to these plans — and to what extent they choose to negotiate, impose counter-tariffs, adjust import duties, or pursue a combination of these measures," the company said in a statement on April 3.
CNBC has contacted Maersk for an updated outlook on global trade following Trump's tariff pause on some of America's trading partners.
Maersk has also previously warned that Trump's tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China was going to be inflationary over the short term.
"The news of Trump backing down from tariffs is a big positive for markets, with many saying that the worst case scenario is now off the table," Michael Field, chief equity strategist at Morningstar, said in a note on Thursday.
The overhang of a global trade war "is likely to persist for some time," Field said, adding that investors will remain wary of increasing tensions with steep tariffs remaining for China.
