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Stocks surged on Wednesday on hopes that U.S.-China trade tensions could soon ease, while President Donald Trump signaled he doesn’t plan to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from his post as central bank leader.
The Dow Jones Industrials came down from their dizzy heights, but were still above water 366.46 points to 39,553.44.
The S&P index climbed 71.83 points, or 1.4%, to 5,359.59
The NASDAQ Composite stayed green 366.96 points, or 2.3%, to 16,667.35.
Trump said Tuesday he’s willing to take a less confrontational approach to trade talks with China, noting that the current 145% tariff on Chinese imports is “very high, and it won’t be that high. … No, it won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”
The Wall Street Journal then reported Wednesday, citing a White House official, that the administration was considering reducing China tariffs to between 50% and 65%. The report sent the U.S. benchmarks to session highs. A White House official later told reporters that such a move would have to be bilateral, however, with China lowering trade barriers as well.
Shares of Tesla popped 5% also due to easing tariff pressures and after CEO Elon Musk said during the company’s Tuesday earnings call that his time spent running Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency will drop “significantly” starting next month.
Investors also breathed a sigh of relief as Trump also said that he has “no intention” of firing Powell, whose term as Fed chair will end in May 2026. The comment is a reversal of sorts for the president, who fired off barbs against Powell as recently as Monday, calling the central bank leader a “major loser” and demanding that interest rates come down. Just last week, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough.”
Prices for the 10-year Treasury remained higher midday Wednesday lowering yields to 4.37% from Tuesday’s 4.41%. Treasury prices and yields in opposite directions.
Oil prices stumbled $1.84 to $61.83 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold skidded $118.60 to $3,300.80 U.S.
