NEW YORK: U.S. stocks soared to one of their best days in history on a euphoric Wall Street Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he would back off on most of his tariffs temporarily, as investors had so desperately hoped he would, AP reported.
The S&P 500 surged 9.5%, an amount that would count as a good year for the market. It had been sinking earlier in the day on worries that Trump’s trade war could drag the global economy into a recession. But then came the posting on social media that investors worldwide had been waiting and wishing for.
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“I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE,” Trump said, after recognizing the more than 75 countries that he said have been negotiating on trade and had not retaliated against his latest increases in tariffs.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later told reporters that Trump was pausing his so-called ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on most of the country’s biggest trading partners, but maintaining his 10% tariff on nearly all global imports, AP said in its reports.
China was a huge exception, though, with Trump saying tariffs are going up to 125% against its products. That raises the possibility of more swings ahead that could stun financial markets. The trade war is not over, and an escalating battle between the world’s two largest economies can create plenty of damage. U.S. stocks are also still below where they were just a week ago, when Trump announced worldwide tariffs on what he called “Liberation Day.”
But on Wednesday, at least, the focus on Wall Street was on the positive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot to a gain of 2,962 points, or 7.9%. The Nasdaq composite leaped 12.2%. The S&P 500 had its third-best day since 1940, according to AP.
