Stocks surged to one of their biggest gains since World War II after President Donald Trump paused his tariffs against most other nations, as investors had desperately hoped he would. Trump, though, did raise tariffs further on China. The S&P 500 soared 9.5%, though the index is still below where it was when Trump announced […]
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S&P 500 soars 9.5% to one of its biggest gains since WWII after Trump limits tariffs
Stocks surged to one of their biggest gains since World War II after President Donald Trump paused his tariffs against most other nations, as investors had desperately hoped he would. Trump, though, did raise tariffs further on China. The S&P 500 soared 9.5%, though the index is still below where it was when Trump announced his sweeping set of tariffs last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average flew nearly 3,000 points higher, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 12.2%.
Where today ranks among best days for the S&P 500:
Oct. 13, 2008 +11.6%
Oct. 28, 2008 +10.8%
April 9, 2025 +9.5%
March 24, 2020 +9.4%
March 13, 2020 +9.3%
Oct. 21, 1987 +9.1% (edited)
How major US stock indexes fared
On Wednesday:
The S&P 500 rose 474.13 points, or 9.5%, to 5,456.90.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2,962.86 points, or 7.9%, to 40,608.45.
The Nasdaq composite rose 1,857.06 points, or 12.2%, to 17,124.97.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 152.45 points, or 8.7%, to 1,913.16.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 382.82 points, or 7.5%.
The Dow is up 2,293.59 points, or 6%.
The Nasdaq is up 1,537.19 points, or 9.9%.
The Russell 2000 is up 86.13 points, or 4.7%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is down 424.73 points, or 7.2%.
The Dow is down 1,935.77 points, or 4.6%.
The Nasdaq is down 2,185.82 points, or 11.3%.
The Russell 2000 is down 317 points, or 14.2%.
Trump acknowledges markets were ‘pretty glum’ but said bond market now looks ‘beautiful’
Trump said he was watching the markets the last few days and said that “it looked pretty glum,” and that he saw Tuesday that on the bond market, “people were getting a little queasy.”
“The bond market right now is beautiful,” the president told reporters at the White House.
Trump defended his decision to launch the tariffs, sending shocks into the market, because the situation with the U.S.’s trading partners “wasn’t sustainable.”
“Somebody had to pull the trigger. I was willing to pull the trigger,” he said.
The president said he would consider exempting some companies who’ve been hit particularly hard by the tariffs, but when asked how he would make those determinations, he said, “Just instinctively.”
“You almost can’t take a pencil to paper. It’s really more of an instinct,” he said.
Trump says he pulled back on many global tariffs — but not on China — because people were getting ‘yippy,’ ‘afraid.’
Trump was asked about volatile markets and his decision to back off on many tariffs after previously suggesting he wouldn’t do so.
Trump says he pulled back on many tariffs on U.S. trading partners — but not on China — because people were getting ‘yippy’ and ‘afraid.’
His comments came as he was chatting with reporters during an event with racing champions on the White House driveway.