“It was the decisive moment the market was waiting for,” remarked Gina Bolvin of Bolvin Wealth Management Group in an analytical note.
Final results of the session reveal that the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 7.87%, the Nasdaq surged 12.16%, and the broader S&P 500 gained 9.52%.
The Nasdaq’s increase finds a parallel only in 2001.
The stock price rises, however, occurred only towards the end of the session after Trump made his announcement on his social network.
This marked the largest single-day rise in the Nasdaq since 2001, reminiscent of the ‘dot-com’ boom, and since 2008 for the S&P 500 during the financial crisis, while for the Dow Jones, it was the most significant increase since the 2020 pandemic onset.
The sectors that saw the most notable recoveries were technology (14.4%), non-essential goods (11.4%), communications (10%), and industrials (9%), primarily those hardest hit since Trump revealed his tariff program on Wednesday.
In the tech sector, the stocks that rebounded the most included Tesla (22.6%), AMD (23.8%), Nvidia (18.8%), and Apple (15.3%).
Trump stated he altered his plan as “people were starting to get nervous,” adding that he was observing the stock market’s evolution, which he described as “dim.”
The shift indicates that the U.S. will maintain a 10% tariff for 90 days on the majority of its trading partners but has raised the tariff to 125% for imports from China.
The day’s stock market performance facilitated a recovery of over $4.5 trillion in market capitalizations, according to the Dow Jones US Total Stock Market index.
“Investors were eager to return to gains at the sight of the smallest good news,” commented Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, speaking to AFP.
“When investors conceive of worst-case scenarios, it doesn’t take much for good news to change their opinion,” he added.
According to this analyst, “China must be aware that it is now isolated,” which might prompt it to negotiate with the U.S., he anticipated.
On the other hand, as Gina Bolvin highlighted, “uncertainty hovers over what will happen after this 90-day period.”
