President Trump announced a 90-day pause on some tariffs on Wednesday, leading to a historic rally in US stocks. The Dow skyrocketed 2,963 points, or 7.87%. The S&P 500 shot up 9.52%, marking its best day since October 2008.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 12.16%, posting its best day since January 2001. “The market’s move upward is violent, and speaks to how badly the market was looking for clarity on this issue,” said Chris Brigati, chief investment officer at SWBC in San Antonio, Texas. Nearly every single company in the S&P 500 rose.
Amazon rose 11.98%, Nike gained 11.36%, United Airlines soared 26.14%, Delta Air Lines surged 23.38%, and American Airlines surged 22.6%. Apple surged 15.33%, Nvidia rose 18.72%, Palantir gained 19%, and Tesla surged 22.69%. Before the upward swing, the S&P 500 had been close to bear market territory, coming near a drop of 20% from the all-time high it hit just seven weeks ago on February 19.
The S&P is still down 11.2% from its record high in February. Following Trump’s announcement, investors scooped up stocks and markets soared. Yet uncertainty remains as Trump still escalated the trade war with China, raising its tariff rates to 125% from 104%.
Additionally, universal duties of 10% remain on all US imports alongside targeted sectoral tariffs on autos. “Trump illustrated to everyone in the market today how incredibly difficult it is to trade around his tariff regime, because he and only he knows when it ends,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. Earlier in the day, global markets had fallen.
stocks surge amid tariff pause
Japan’s Nikkei index closed 4% down, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished marginally higher after a significant downturn. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index entered bear market territory.
Markets in Taiwan also fell sharply. Conversely, Shanghai’s stock market closed more than 1% higher, standing out in a sea of red in Asia on Wednesday. In Europe, the region’s benchmark STOXX 600 index fell 3.5%.
France’s CAC index was down 3.34%, Germany’s DAX was down 3%, and London’s FTSE 100 index fell 2.92%. US oil reversed course and gained 4.65% to $62.35 a barrel after tumbling earlier in the day. The global benchmark Brent crude gained 4.23% to $65.48 a barrel.
Both had hit their lowest level since 2021 before surging higher after Trump’s announcement. Investors also poured money into traditional safe-havens like gold, which saw a rise of more than 3%. Meanwhile, US Treasury yields have risen in recent days as investors largely sold off bonds.
The benchmark 10-year yield, which fell below 4% earlier in the week, is now above 4.3%. “The bond market is very tricky. I was watching it.
But if you look at it now, it’s beautiful,” Trump said to reporters, indicating it was among the factors leading to his decision for a tariff pause. As markets continue to react to the latest developments in trade policy, investors remain cautious about the longer-term economic impact.
