Fears of pandemic-era shortages at American stores have made a big comeback as shipping-container traffic between China and the U.S. plunged in the wake of President Trump’s tariffs.

Chip stocks including Nvidia and Broadcom rose sharply Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump reportedly said the administration's tariffs on China "will come down substantially."

China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs in a sign on Friday that the trade war between the two countries could be easing, though China quickly knocked down U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that negotiations were underway.