S&P 500 sees one of biggest days since second world war after Trump levies pause – as it happened​on April 10, 2025 at 12:09 am

It is 4pm ET and the US stock market has officially closed for the day.

Wednesday’s stock market closure follows a surge in stocks after Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs except for China.

According to his Truth Social statement, Trump suggested that he has backed down on tariffs on most countries for 3 months and will apply instead a 10% tariff.

Meanwhile, China has been hit with 125% on tariffs, a move which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described as: “When you punch at the United States of America, President Trump is going to punch back harder.”

As part of the ongoing trade war between the US and China, China has announced tariffs on 84% on imports of all US goods, a retaliation to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs which sent major indices down in the UK, Germany, France and Spain on Wednesday.

The World Trade Organization chief said Wednesday the US-China tariff war could reduce trade in goods between the two economic giants by 80 percent, pulling down the rest of the world economy.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday about his tariffs policy, Donald Trump acknowledged people were getting “a little bit afraid” and said: “I thought that people were jumping a little out line” and getting “yippy.”

He added that his announcement on the 90-day pause and 125% raise on China could be “temporary.”

Trump added that “China wants to make a deal … they just don’t know quite how to go about it.”

He also went on to say that “many more than 75” other countries want to make trade deals with him.

In response to whether he would consider exempting some larger companies that have been hit hard in the markets, Trump said: “We’re going to take a look at it, there are some that have been hard, there are some that by the nature of the company get hit a little bit harder.”

Upon being asked how he will determine which companies got hit the hardest, Trump said: “Just instinctively.”

The World Trade Organization chief said Wednesday the US-China tariff war could reduce trade in goods between the two economic giants by 80 percent, pulling down the rest of the world economy.

Okonjo-Iweala said that the US-China tariff war could reduce trade in goods between the two countries by 80%.

Okonjo-Iweala’s comments come after Trump’s comments raised tariffs on China to 125% on Wednesday.

“The escalating trade tensions between the United States and China pose a significant risk of a sharp contraction in bilateral trade. Our preliminary projections suggest that merchandise trade between these two economies could decrease by as much as 80 percent,” Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement.

Okonjo-Iweala added that the tariff war could “severely damage the global economic outlook.”

Okonjo-Iweala warned that the world economy risked breaking into two blocs, one centred around the United States and the other China.

“Of particular concern is the potential fragmentation of global trade along geopolitical lines. A division of the global economy into two blocs could lead to a long-term reduction in global real GDP by nearly seven percent,” she said.

She urged all WTO members “to address this challenge through cooperation and dialogue.”

Addressing reporters at the White House on Wednesday, treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the latest changes in Donald Trump’s tariffs policy was Trump’s “strategy all along.”

“This was his strategy all along, and that you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position, they responded. They have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actors, and we are willing to cooperate with our allies and with our trading partners who did not retaliate. It wasn’t a hard message, don’t retaliate, things will turn out well.”

Speaking on Fox Business on Wednesday, Peter Navarro, a key Trump ally and and White House trade advisor, said:

“This is one of the greatest days in American economic history… I think we’re going to call it the art of the reciprocal trade deal… All the nervous nellies who tried to undermine us consistently underestimate the power of the president.”

He added that the US will negotiate with countries “who have come to us” over the next 90 days.

The White House has confirmed Donald Trump’s statement announcing a 125% tariff on China and a 90-day pause and lowered 10% tariff for other countries, effective immediately.

The White House’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Trump had raised tariffs against China because “when you punch at the United States of America, President Trump is going to punch back harder”.

She also said the US will continue with tailor-made negotiations and that tariff level will be brought down to a universal 10% during negotiations.

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has been speaking to reporters outside the White House after Donald Trump announced he authorised a 90-day pause on tariffs on most countries and a China tariff raise to 125%.

Bessent said countries who did not retaliate against the US tariff announcement last week will be “rewarded”.

“Do not retaliate, and you will be rewarded,” he said. He noted that the tariff rate on Chinese goods has been raised “due to their insistence on escalation”.

Mexico and Canada are included in the 10% baseline tariffs, he said.

Global markets surged after Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs except for China.

The S&P 500 is surging 5.6%, while the Nasdaq has jumped over 8%.

Trump’s Truth Social statement suggests he has backed down on tariffs on most countries for 90 days, applying instead a 10% tariff.

He also announced he has raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.

It is unclear whether any other nations besides China will face tariffs above the 10%.

Here’s the full statement by Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, in which he has announced a 90-day pause on tariffs except for China:

Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately. At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.

Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 Countries have called Representatives of the United States, including the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and the USTR, to negotiate a solution to the subjects being discussed relative to Trade, Trade Barriers, Tariffs, Currency Manipulation, and Non Monetary Tariffs, and that these Countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form against the United States, I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause on tariffs effective immediately.

The US president, in a post on his Truth Social platform, wrote:

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

Trump also said he would be raising tariffs on China to 125%, also effective immediately, citing the “lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets”.

The US stock market has edged higher, led by gains in technology shares, while other markets worldwide swung sharply as Donald Trump’s trade war continues to escalate.

Large technology stocks led the gains, with Apple rising 3.3% and Nvidia up 2%. The tech sector was up 1.5%. However at noon ET, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 161.21 points, or 0.43%, to 37,484.38, the S&P 500 lost 13.71 points, or 0.28%, to 4,969.06 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 58.83 points, or 0.39%, to 15,327.41.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• China announced new tariffs of 84% on imports of all US goods, up from the 34% previously announced, hours after US tariffs on Chinese products went up to a staggering 104%. China’s retaliation sent stock markets falling further with major indices down in the UK, Germany, France and Spain.

• The EU announced 25% tariffs on a range of US imports in a first round of countermeasures. The 27-member bloc has agreed to impose retaliatory tariffs on €21bn (£18bn) of US goods, targeting farm produce and products from Republican states. All member states voted for the retaliation, with the exception of Hungary.

• US markets recovered later on Wednesday after the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, indicated that America was open to trade agreements with allies and a subsequent group deal with China. In his first comments since China’s 84% tariff announcement, Trump urged Americans to “be cool”. The US president bragged about countries “kissing my ass” to negotiate tariffs during Tuesday night dinner.

• The CEO of JP Morgan Chase warned that a US recession seems increasingly likely as Donald Trump’s tariffs rattle financial markets. A 2,000-point drop in the Dow “feeds on itself,” leading people to feel the pinch in their 401(k)s and pensions, prompting them to cut back, Jamie Dimon said.

• The Bank of England warned that Trump’s sweeping tariffs have put global growth at risk, heaping pressure on government finances and increasing the likelihood of “severe shocks” to the financial system.

• Oil prices slid to a multiyear low, dipping below the $60 per barrel mark for the first time since February 2021. The oil price slump means the Kremlin can effectively shrug off the G7’s $60 cap price cap on Russian oil exports.