Apple to Amazon: Why major Nasdaq, Dow stocks are up today | Explained
Stocks surged Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a pause in some of the reciprocal tariffs
Stocks surged Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a pause in some of the reciprocal tariffs. The S&P 500 rose 7.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 2544 points, or 6.8% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped around 10%. Soon after Trump's Truth Social post, Apple was up 11%, Nvidia was up 13%, Amazon rose 7.5%, Alphabet was up 6.4% and Microsoft saw a 7.8% surge.
Read More: Trump administration backs off Nvidia's H20 chip crackdown after Mar-a-Lago dinner, NPR reports
Walmart was headed for its best day since 2020 after its shares surged nearly 11% on Wednesday afternoon. Airline stocks too surged. Delta Air Lines, which had released its first-quarter earnings earlier that day, saw its stock soar by more than 22%, putting it on track for its strongest performance since at least March 2020. United Airlines also experienced a significant uptick, climbing over 19% and heading toward its best day since May 2020. Southwest Airlines gained 12%, while JetBlue Airways and Alaska Air each rose more than 12%. Additionally, travel site Expedia saw its stock increase by over 15%, reflecting the broader rally in travel-related shares.
Donald Trump 90-day tariff pause announcement
“I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. The 78-year-old further announced that he was raising tariff on China to 125%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified that all countries except China would go back to the 10% baseline tariff rate. However, the pause does not apply to sector tariffs.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who recently slammed Trump's tariff move, thanked the administration for a 90-day pause on more severe tariffs.
“Thank you on behalf of all Americans,” he tweeted, further saying ‘Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent] rocks!’
The 90-day pause will allow for the US to negotiate with individual countries, Bessent told reporters. President Trump will be personally involved in those discussions, he added.
"Each one of these is going to be separate, bespoke negotiation," Bessent said.
