U.S. Stocks Spike As Trump Announces 90-Day Tariff Pause For Some Countries

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction earlier in the session, stocks have spiked in recent trading in reaction to President Donald Trump's latest announcement on tariffs. The major averages have all moved sharply higher, partly offsetting the steep losses posted over the past few sessions.

Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 1,384.14 or 9.1 percent at 16,652.05, the S&P 500 is up 343.18 points or 6.9 percent at 5,325.95 and the Dow is up 2,268.60 or 6.0 percent at 39,914.19.

Stocks skyrocketed after Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that he has authorized a 90-day pause on new tariffs for some countries.

"I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately," Trump said.

While it was not immediately clear which countries the pause would apply to, Trump noted the decision came as more than 75 countries have called representatives of the U.S. to "negotiate a solution."

However, it is clear the pause will not apply to China, as Trump announced he is raising the tariff on the country to 125 percent due to the "lack of respect" they have shown to the world's markets.

In an earlier Truth Social post, Trump urged investors to "be cool," claimed "everything is going to work out well" and called this a "great time to buy."

Sector News

Semiconductor stocks have skyrocketed in reaction to the latest tariff news, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index soaring by 12.7 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in over a year.

Substantial strength has also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 9.6 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index is bouncing off a four-year closing low.

Oil service stocks have also moved sharply higher amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 9.2 percent.

Computer hardware, software and networking stocks have also shown significant moves to the upside, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 3.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index shot up by 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved sharply lower on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dove by 3.3 percent, the German DAX Index tumbled by 3.0 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 2.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the sharp pullback seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 11.8 basis points at 4.378 percent.