Donald Trump announces 90-day tariff pause; DOW shoots up 2,400 points, NASDAQ 1,400

Japan’s Nikkei 225, dropped more than 3% shortly after markets opened on Wednesday, reported CNN. Investors are nervous because Trump is about to impose the new “reciprocal” tariffs on many countries. He has also warned of an extra 50% tariff on Chinese goods. The Nikkei 225, which includes over 200 of Japan’s largest companies, had jumped 6% on Tuesday after falling nearly 8% on Monday.

Shares in China and Hong Kong fell on Wednesday morning after the US announced it would start charging 104% tariffs on Chinese goods later in the day, adding more pressure to the growing trade war between the two countries. China’s CSI300 Index, which includes major companies, fell by 1.2%, and the Shanghai Composite Index went down by 1.1%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped by 3.1%.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday said that the United States plans to ‘take back’ Panama Canal from China’s influence. During his visit to Panama, Hegseth met with local officials and promised stronger security cooperation between the two countries.

Hegseth said the US would work closely with Panama to prevent China from using its business ties in the region to gather intelligence or gain control over the canal. He also said that China didn’t build or run the canal and shouldn’t be allowed to use it for its own strategic advantage. He added that the US and Panama would work together to keep the canal safe and open for all countries.

The Trump administration says countries are lining up to engage in trade talks with the US, with nearly 70 nations reportedly reaching out to begin negotiations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that “the phones have been ringing off the hook” as governments show interest in discussing tariffs and trade policy.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump spoke with South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-soo, describing it as a “great call” that went beyond trade matters. Additionally, it has been confirmed that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit the US on 17 April for a meeting with Trump focused on tariff discussions.

President Donald Trump said his administration is making progress in early talks with countries that are soon to be hit with steep U.S. tariffs on their exports.

“We’re doing very well,” Trump said at a White House event where he signed executive orders. “I call them tailored deals — not off the rack. These are highly tailored.”

Trump noted that representatives from Japan and South Korea are expected to visit the U.S. for negotiations.

Despite ongoing discussions, none of the 86 countries targeted for the new reciprocal tariffs are expected to finalize agreements before the duties take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

Trump’s Trade Representative, Jameson Greer, said India has indicated a willingness to lower both tariff and non-tariff barriers in line with President Trump’s trade policies.

He added, “Our average tariff on agricultural goods stands at just 5%, whereas India maintains a much higher average of 39%.”

The United States announced on Tuesday that tariffs of 104% on imports from China will come into effect shortly after midnight. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has begun reaching out to other trade partners impacted by President Donald Trump’s broad tariff plan in an effort to initiate talks.

U.S. stock markets continued their downward trend, with the S&P 500 falling for the fourth consecutive trading day following the tariff announcement last week. The index closed below the 5,000 mark for the first time in nearly a year and now sits 18.9% below its February 19 peak—approaching the 20% drop that typically signals a bear market.

The U.S. stock market is careening through a second straight day of stunning swings Tuesday as uncertainty reigns about what whether President Donald Trump will ease up on his trade war, which is scheduled to kick into a higher gear after midnight.

After roaring to an early jump of 4.1%, which had it on track for its best day in years, the S&P 500 quickly lost all of it within a few hours. It then waffled between modest gains and losses before scratching out a rise of 0.4% in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 300 points, or 0.8%, after giving up most of its earlier surge of 1,460 points, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher, as of 1:45 p.m. Eastern time.

Matters worsened after the POTUS doubled down on plans to impose higher tariffs from April 9 with a 104% levy against China.

Nearly 70 countries have reached out to the White House looking to begin negotiations on reducing the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

Leavitt told reporters that deals will be made if they benefit American workers and address chronic trade deficits. Trump directed his team to work on “tailor-made deals” for each country that reaches out.

A White House official told CNBC that the US tariff rate on Chinese imports would rise to 104% from 12.01 am (eastern time) on Wednesday. This converts to 9:30 am on April 9 for India.

White House Press Secretary sought to downplay the ongoing war of words between Elon Musk and US trade advisor Peter Navarro during a briefing on Tuesday. The remarks came soon after the Tesla and SpaceX CEO called the top Trump aide ‘dumber than a sack of bricks’.

“Look, these are obviously two individuals who have very different views on trade and on tariffs. Boys will be boys, and we will let their public sparring continue,” she said.

White House Press Secretary says 104% tariff on China to come into effect from April 9, a Reuters report quoted Fox Business.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that China has not lifted its retaliatory tariffs on the US. She also announced that the U.S. will begin enforcing 104% tariffs on Chinese imports starting tomorrow, according to FOX Business.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he had a “great call” with South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo, during which they discussed tariffs, shipbuilding, and potential energy deals, just one day before a 25% tariff on the Asian ally was set to take effect.

“We have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good,” Trump said on social media.

(With Reuters Inputs)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pointed to the ongoing conflict between Navarro and Musk as he urged the president to ” immediately reverse his reckless trade war “, according to CNBC.

On the Senate floor Schumer said, “The chaos within the Trump administration was shown a few minutes ago when Elon Musk called Peter Navarro, the chief architect of these tariffs, a moron”.

Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast in a post on X, says that his Feastables chocolate bars will cost less to produce due to new tariffs under the Trump administration.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer claimed on Tuesday that pharmaceuticals and semiconductors had been excluded from the recently announced reciprocal tariffs because the Trump administration believed that they “need their own investigations”.

National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told Fox News that US President Donald Trump was fielding a “massive number of requests for negotiations”. Trump also shared a video clip from the interview on Truth Social — quoting the same detail as a caption.

“It is challenging to go through them. There are so many to go through that we’re actually getting ready to present a plan for [Trump] on who and when,” he told Fox News.

Short sellers targeting U.S. companies have gained $127 billion on paper from April 2 through Monday after President Donald Trump’s plans for sweeping tariffs sparked a sharp selloff in stocks, according to data and analytics company Ortex Technologies.

The data, for U.S. companies with market capitalization $1 billion and greater, showed short sellers’ gains for 2025 through Monday at $189 billion.

Short sellers aim to profit by selling borrowed shares and buying them back later at a lower price.

These bearish investors profited since April 2 as Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs against U.S. trading partners set off a plunge of roughly $5 trillion in market value for the S&P 500 index.

(via Reuters)

The S&P 500 was up 3.7% in morning trading, though it still remains more than 14% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,388 points, or 3.6%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.1% higher.The bounce was global. Stock indexes rallied 6% in Tokyo, 3.5% in Paris and 1.6% in Shanghai. The price of crude oil also pulled higher after touching its lowest level since 2021 on Monday. Bitcoin steadied and was back above $79,000 after dropping toward $76,000 the prior day.Even with Tuesday’s big jump, which could be the best for the S&P 500 since late 2022, analysts say more swings up and down are likely for markets not only in the days ahead but also perhaps the hours.

According to a Bloomberg update, Italian premier Giorgia Meloni will head to the US to negotiate tariff relief directly with President Donald Trump.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer insisted on Tuesday that President Donald Trump would not allow for any tariff exemptions in the near term. He also noted that price challenge from the tariffs would affect companies that are ‘largely dependent on imports from China and Asia’.

“Trump has been clear that he won’t do tariff exemptions in the near term…There is no particular timeline on his negotiations with other countries on tariffs,” updates shared by Reuters quoted him as saying.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister arrived in the United States on Tuesday for an official visit aimed at planning US President Donald Trump’s expected trip to the kingdom later this spring, a source close to the Saudi royal court told Reuters.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud would also discuss Gaza and the status of Yemen’s Houthis during meetings with U.S. government officials, the source said.

The trip was scheduled before last week’s U.S. tariffs announcement

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called US trade advisor Peter Navarro ‘dumber than a sack of bricks’ on Tuesday — the latest in a series of seemingly critical updates following tariff announcements.

“Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks,” he commented.

The remark came in response to a CNBC interview clip where Navarro contended that Musk was a car “assembler” whose vehicles were made using parts sourced from overseas.

The tech mogul had posted a video favouring free trade last week as Trump announced steep tariffs and remains locked in a war of words with Navarro. Speculative reports claim that Musk — who is believed to be close to Donald Trump and currently heads the DOGE team — is ‘angry’ with President. Some have also suggested that he might be edged out of influential policy discussions.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is pushing for a ” 30, 60, or 90- day pause before the tariffs are implemented tomorrow”. He also reiterated his support for US President Donald Trump and and suggested that the POTUS could “bring the hammer down” if a country did not negotiate in good faith.

“I am advocating for a 30, 60, or 90- day pause before the tariffs are implemented tomorrow to enable negotiations to be completed without a major global economic disruption that will harm the most vulnerable companies and citizens of our country,” he wrote on X.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Tuesday she would meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent “shortly” as part of broader talks over a new economic partnership that London hopes will reduce its tariff levy.

Reeves, speaking to parliament as global markets stabilised following days of turmoil, said the government was seeking to build stronger trade ties with the US, while also providing stability for families, businesses and investors at home.

South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo said on Tuesday he would “clearly like to negotiate” with the United States over reducing tariffs imposed on his country by the Trump administration. He also insisted during an interview with CNN that his country would not band together with China, Japan or other countries to push back against the new tariffs

Wall Street’s main indexes opened sharply higher on Tuesday after a bruising selloff that has wiped out trillions of dollars since last week, as investors await any sign of the U.S. opening up for negotiations over some of the aggressive tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 861.5 points, or 2.27%, at the open to 38827.1. The S&P 500 rose 131.3 points, or 2.59%, at the open to 5193.57​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 577.8 points, or 3.70%, to 16181.041 at the opening bell.

The POTUS also said that had just had a “great call” with the acting President of South Korea and lambasted his predecessor Joe Biden for cancelling an earlier deal.

“I just had a great call with the Acting President of South Korea. We talked about their tremendous and unsustainable Surplus, Tariffs, Shipbuilding, large scale purchase of U.S. LNG, their joint venture in an Alaska Pipeline, and payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea. They began these Military payments during my first term, Billions of Dollars, but Sleepy Joe Biden, for reasons unknown, terminated the deal. That was a shocker to all! In any event, we have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good,” he wrote on Truth Social.

US President Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday that China ‘badly wanted’ to make a deal but did not know “how to get it started”.

” China also wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call. It will happen! GOD BLESS THE USA,” he assured in a lengthy post on Truth Social.