** Shares of iPhone-maker Apple AAPL.O and computer hardware makers Hewlett Packard HPQ.O and Dell DELL.O up between 5.8% and 6.6% in trading before the bell
** U.S. President Donald Trump grants exclusions from China tariffs on smartphones, computers and other electronics
** Shares of semiconductor companies Nvidia NVDA.O, Intel INTC.O, Advanced Micro Devices INTC.O, Broadcom AVGO.O, Micron Technology MU.O up between 2% and 5% premarket
** Separately, Trump says he would be announcing the tariff rate on imported semiconductors over the next week
** Up to last close, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index .NDX was down ~11% this year
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru)
((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/hoodieonveshti;))