U.S. stocks plunged on Thursday, giving up more than half of their historic gains from the previous day as President Donald Trump’s trade war continues to cause confusion.
The S&P 500 was down five percent in midday trading, cutting into the 9.5 percent surge that came on Wednesday after the president paused many of his global tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 4.2 percent as of 12.10 p.m. E.T., and the Nasdaq composite decreased 5.7 percent.
UBS strategist Bhanu Baweja wrote in a report that Trump had blinked, “but the damage isn’t all undone.”
This comes after the president urged the world to “be cool” on Wednesday as his sweeping import taxes took effect, crashing global markets and sending shockwaves through the U.S. economy.
Minutes after trading began on Wall Street, he declared: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
But hours later, the president performed an extraordinary U-turn, pausing and reducing tariffs on most nations for 90 days while increasing levies on imports from China.
Markets surged. White House officials – who just one day earlier said Trump would never back down – claimed “this was his strategy all along” and “the art of the deal” at work.
Social media exploded with accusations that the president had orchestrated a reverse “pump and dump” scheme.
Trump bristles at Democrat senators over ambassador confirmations
President Donald Trump is grumbling about Democrats in the Senate over confirmation votes for his picks to be U.S. ambassadors in “Faraway Lands.”
The president wrote on Truth Social:
It’s so hard to watch as Highly Qualified and Respected Ambassadors, who we desperately need representing our Country in Faraway Lands, are purposefully meant to wait as the Democrat Senators take maximum time for every single one of them, even though they were confirmed with Bipartisan Support, also at maximum time, and only done to hurt our Country. A process that should take a matter of minutes is forced into taking months, making it very hard on the new Ambassadors’ families, and not good, at all, for the Good Ole’ U.S.A. In a true sense, in numerous cases, what they do is actually a Threat to National Security. John Thune and the Republicans are doing a great job, but nothing much can be done when the Democrats make everyone sit, day after day, pushing the limits. The level of hostility is not to be believed!
WATCH: Trump claims he won all states, brings up Babe Ruth in steel chat
White House is refusing to distribute press pool reports that contain ‘inconvenient’ info
Justin Baragona writes:
In what appears to be a push to take even firmer control over the press corps’ coverage of the current administration, the White House is now selectively distributing reports submitted by press poolers and apparently cutting the ones it doesn’t like.
Oliver Darcy of Status News first reported Wednesday night that at least two recent dispatches filed by the poolers on duty were not sent out to the news outlets that are subscribed to the White House pool report mailing list.
Earlier this week, Dallas Morning News correspondent Joseph Morton sent out an email about the press being on the move from the White House to President Donald Trump’s speech at a fundraising dinner for the National Republican Congressional Committee. While the message essentially conveyed that a small group of reporters was traveling to cover the event, it also included the following observation: “A reporter and photographer with The Associated Press were turned away from joining the pool.”
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Democrats call on Speaker to force members to release trading reports
Reps. Joe Neguse, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Seth Magaziner, Mike Levin, Dave Min, and Steven Horseford have called on Speaker Mike Johnson to force House members to “immediately file and release” their trading transactions from April 2-9.
“It would be unconscionable for any Member of Congress to use their personal position to benefit financially, especially in a time where Americans across the country are experiencing financial chaos,” they wrote in a letter. “Therefore, we respectfully request that you join us in requesting that Members of Congress immediately release their [periodic trading reports], rather than the customary 45-day deadline. The American people deserve to know if any representatives took advantage of their positions for personal gain.”
Fund managers quietly fear Trump doesn’t have a tariff plan and that he ‘might be insane’
“In the last few days, we have had many conversations with macro fund managers,” Tom Lee, the head of research at the financial analysis firm FSInsights, wrote on Wednesday morning, before Trump backed down from most of his tariffs on U.S. trading partners.
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Trump brags to NASCAR drivers that friend Charles Schwab made $2bn from stock market chaos
Zack Palomo writes:
In a video posted to X Wednesday (9 April), the president introduced NASCAR drivers to the founder and chairman of Charles Schwab Corporation, a multinational financial services company.
“It’s not just a company, it’s actually an individual,” Trump told the racing drivers.
The president added that Schwab “made two and a half billion today” from the stock market.
House passes budget framework in tense vote after Mike Johnson wins over conservatives
John Bowden writes:
The House voted on Thursday to pass a budget framework authored by Republicans in the Senate, after delays and negotiations between GOP leadership and hardline deficit hawks in their caucus.
Speaker Mike Johnson appeared at a joint press conference with Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Thursday as the two tried to convince holdout conservative Republicans to back a Senate budget framework which does not include language guaranteeing that committee chairs will find at least $1.5trn in spending cuts.
Congress is seeking to pass a budget framework for the upcoming year that would begin the reconciliation process, which will combine the Senate-passed legislation with a framework passed by the House in February to create one bill that would then be passed by both chambers.
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Trump says higher tariff rates may return if no deals are made
Trump said the previous higher tariff rates would return if he’s unable to strike a deal with certain countries.
WATCH: Trump insists ‘it’s all going to work out really well’ and admits to ‘transition costs’ to get new trade deals
WATCH: Hotel owner Donald Trump suggests farms and hotels might be allowed to keep undocumented employees
Source: independent.co.uk
