Wall Street has biggest single day surge since 2008 as Trump makes shock tariff U-turn
US stocks surged on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay in tariffs for countries that hadn't imposed reciprocal tariffs.
But he raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125 percent, citing China's 'lack of respect' for global markets.
The Nasdaq surged more than 12 percent and the S&P 500 by 10 percent, their biggest jumps since October 2008 when there was a relief rally during the Great Recession. The Dow was up a huge 3,000 points, or 7.9 percent.
Nvidia shares jumped 15 percent, the most since July, while Apple shares rose 13 percent, the largest move in over 5 years since March 2020. Microsoft's shares gained $220 billion.
Walmart shares rallied 9.7 percent, Tesla shares were up more than 19 percent, United Airlines jumped more than 21 percent and Delta Air Lines surged over 20 percent.
Stocks for clothing retailers like Nike also surged, as they are heavily impacted by high tariffs on garment-producing countries such as Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. For shoppers, it means big jumps in prices for clothes and shoes will not happen just yet.
In just five minutes, during the initial surge upwards, trillions of dollars were added to the value of U.S. stocks, providing a huge boost to Americans, especially those with investments in 401(k)s and indices like the Dow.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he decided to pause the tariffs because 'more than 75 countries' reached out to US officials to 'negotiate a solution' to the trade issues raised by the new duties.
The tech heavy Nasdaq was up more than 10 per cent at 2pm
The S&P 500 soared by more than 7 per cent
Trump's Truth Social post
Trump did not speak to the media, but instead Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed reporters outside the White House.
He said that countries who had not retaliated would go down to the 10 percent universal baseline tariff.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tweeted that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat with Trump as he wrote the post, calling it 'one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his presidency.'
Lutnick added: 'The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, but China has chosen the opposite path.'
'At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.
'Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
The European Union had earlier launched its own counterattack, announcing measures targeting some US products from Tuesday in retaliation for American duties on global steel and aluminum exports.
The 27-nation bloc, which Trump has accused of being created to 'screw' the United States, will hit more than 20 billion euros' worth of US products, including soybeans, motorcycles and beauty products.
The Dow Jones jumped 6 percent
But the EU notably did not retaliate against the 20 percent US tariffs that came into effect a minute after midnight on Wednesday.
Trump announced a week ago on what he called 'Liberation Day' that he would impose a 10 percent baseline tariff on all countries that took effect on Saturday, with additional rates for economies including China and the EU with a large trade surplus with the United States that took effect on Wednesday.
With markets roiled for the past week, Trump earlier Wednesday urged Americans to 'BE COOL!' and said that 'Everything is going to work out well.'
Wall Street stocks rocketed higher Wednesday after Trump's pause announcement.
US bond yields had also risen amid a sharp sell-off - a major economic red light as sovereign government debt is normally seen as a safe haven for investors in troubled times.
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