The Latest: S&P 500 soars 9.5% to one of its biggest gains since WWII after Trump limits tariffs

Stocks surged to one of their biggest gains since World War II after President Donald Trump paused his tariffs against most other nations, as investors had desperately hoped he would.

Trump, though, did raise tariffs further on China.

The S&P 500 soared 9.5%, though the index is still below where it was when Trump announced his sweeping set of tariffs last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average flew nearly 3,000 points higher, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 12.2%.

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Here's the latest:

Trump says he doesn't expect to increase tariffs on China again

Trump told reporters at the White House that he ''can't imagine'' he'd need to increase tariffs on China again to get them to the negotiating table.

Where today ranks among best days for the S&P 500:

Oct. 13, 2008 +11.6%

Oct. 28, 2008 +10.8%

April 9, 2025 +9.5%

March 24, 2020 +9.4%

Oct. 21, 1987 +9.1% (edited)

How major US stock indexes fared

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 rose 474.13 points, or 9.5%, to 5,456.90.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2,962.86 points, or 7.9%, to 40,608.45.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 152.45 points, or 8.7%, to 1,913.16.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 382.82 points, or 7.5%.

The Dow is up 2,293.59 points, or 6%.

The Nasdaq is up 1,537.19 points, or 9.9%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is down 424.73 points, or 7.2%.

The Dow is down 1,935.77 points, or 4.6%.

The Nasdaq is down 2,185.82 points, or 11.3%.

The Russell 2000 is down 317 points, or 14.2%.

Trump said he was watching the markets the last few days and said that ''it looked pretty glum,'' and that he saw Tuesday that on the bond market, ''people were getting a little queasy.''

''The bond market right now is beautiful,'' the president told reporters at the White House.

Trump defended his decision to launch the tariffs, sending shocks into the market, because the situation with the U.S.'s trading partners ''wasn't sustainable.''

''Somebody had to pull the trigger. I was willing to pull the trigger,'' he said.

The president said he would consider exempting some companies who've been hit particularly hard by the tariffs, but when asked how he would make those determinations, he said, ''Just instinctively.''

Trump says he pulled back on many global tariffs — but not on China — because people were getting ‘yippy,' ‘afraid.'

Trump was asked about volatile markets and his decision to back off on many tariffs after previously suggesting he wouldn't do so.

Trump says he pulled back on many tariffs on U.S. trading partners — but not on China — because people were getting ‘yippy' and ‘afraid.'

His comments came as he was chatting with reporters during an event with racing champions on the White House driveway.

World Trade Organization head says wading into trade war could ‘severely damage' global economic outlook

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, wading into the rising trade war between the world's top two economies, said the ''tit-for-tat approach'' by the U.S. and China ''could severely damage the global economic outlook.''

''Of particular concern is the potential fragmentation of global trade along geopolitical lines,'' she wrote in a statement late Wednesday. ''A division of the global economy into two blocs could lead to a long-term reduction in global real GDP by nearly 7%.''

Citing WTO projections, she warned the negative effects could ripple through to other economies, especially developing ones.

She urged countries to ensure an open global trading system and resolve differences through cooperation.

Wall Street takes a dramatic turn after days of uncertainty and turmoil

At 2:30 p.m., the S&P 500 was up more than 7%, the Nasdaq composite gained nearly 10% and the Dow was up nearly 2,400 points, or 6.3%. Moves like this hadn't been seen since the early days of the global pandemic in 2020.

Shares of automakers, travel companies, technology giants and retailers surged after some sharp declines in previous days amid predictions of dire consequences for the economy. Companies that sourced parts and materials from countries in Asia and Europe sank on expectations of sharply higher costs.

Tesla jumped nearly 18%, Apple gained 9.5%, JPMorgan added more than 7%, and Warner Bros. jumped almost 17%. Travel-related companies in particular skyrocketed, with United Airlines and Delta gaining more than 20% and Norwegian Cruise Line up almost 18%.

''In this twilight zone week since the tariff slate was announced last week this was the first sign that the Trump Administration would need to back off quickly,'' analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote in a note to clients.

Ives notes that Trump did not remove the 104% tariffs he imposed on China, would could still be an issue for companies such as Apple.

African nations account for only a sliver of America's trade balance, yet they stood on the brink of crushing tariffs. Nations including Lesotho, Madagascar and Ivory Coast may now breath a sigh of relief after Trump's Tuesday announcement.

Many impoverished nations export goods such as vanilla, cocoa, and blue jeans but lack the means to import much in return. They were staring down tariffs as high as 60%, but now will have 90 days to make a case to White House officials that trade deficits are a poor measure for weighing the worth of a relationship.

Karen Mathiasen of the Center for Global Development said the effects of tariffs in parts of sub-Saharan Africa could be devastating, costing tens of thousands of jobs and risking the meltdown of entire sectors.

''What they could focus on is disproportionate impact,'' she said. ''The case they could make is, 'It will be devastating for us and for the United States, it won't even be measurable. Trying to focus on incredibly uneven outcomes might be one way for them to be persuasive.''

Treasury secretary says markets ''didn't understand'' Trump's tariff strategy

''The market didn't understand, those were maximum levels. The countries can think about those levels as they come to us to bring down their tariffs, their non-trade barriers,'' Bessent said.

He said Trump ''created maximum negotiating leverage for himself'' and the Chinese have ''shown themselves to the world as the bad actors''

Automakers surge after tariff pause

General Motors rose 5.7%, Ford gained 5.6% and Stellantis rose 11.9%.

The companies have supply chains and production facilities that span North America. Tariffs mean more costly production for the companies and higher prices for consumers. Their stocks are all still down for the year.

Former US trade official says countries will now drift from the dollar

''This just accentuates the policy uncertainty and sense of unreliability Trump is creating,'' said William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ''Sure it's good news, but how does anybody know that he won't change his mind on Friday or next week? Countries are going to drift away from the U.S. and, more important, from the dollar.''

Travel stocks surge

Passenger airlines, cruise lines, travel booking companies and hotels are surging in afternoon trading. Companies tied to travel and tourism had seen their shares slump the past few days amid fears of a possible recession.

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines built on earlier gains, with Delta up more than 18% and United rising 17%.

Booking Holdings, operator of the online travel sites Booking.com, Priceline and Kayak, rose more than 7%. Expedia jumped 16%.

Hotel and casino companies also surged, with Marriott rising 8% and MGM Resorts gaining more than 10%. Airbnb also rose more than 10%.

Treasury Secretary announcement to keep a 10% baseline tariffs on most countries seemingly narrows trade war

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that Trump was pausing his so-called ‘reciprocal' tariffs on most of the country's biggest trading partners, but maintaining his 10% tariff on nearly all global imports.

It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the U.S. and most of the world to one between the U.S. and China.

Trump pauses tariffs on most nations for 90 days, raises taxes on Chinese imports

President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.

It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the U.S. and most of the world to one between the U.S. and China.

Global markets surged on the development, but the precise details of Trump's plans to ease tariffs on non-China trade partners were not immediately clear.

Irish businesses are already seeing an impact from the US tariffs

''There is no way to sugar coat it,'' Martin told members of parliament. ''We are already hearing from some who are seeing orders from the United States slowing or even drying up entirely, putting valuable and skilled jobs at risk, and there may be more to come.''

Ireland is in a unique situation because it shares a border and trade with Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and only subject to a 10% tariff.

Martin said their supply chains were interconnected, particularly in the farm sector, and he would continue to be in close touch with northern leaders.

Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Fein, a minority party, said the two governments need to be lockstep because ordinary people will be hit hardest by the higher prices and threats to their jobs.

''It's a serious issue that we now have two different tariff rates on this small island of ours, and potentially two very different responses to those rates and the dynamic that is now unfolding around us,'' McDonald said.

Meanwhile, deputy premier Simon Harris was in Washington to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Peabody mines market gains

Peabody Energy's stock is heating up after President Donald Trump signed executive orders meant to bolster the coal mining industry in the U.S.

Peabody's stock is up 3.8%, following a 9.2% jump on Tuesday. It's still down nearly 50% for the year, though.

Trump is using his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity. He is directing federal agencies to lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands. He is also temporarily exempting coal-fired plants from emissions standards on toxic chemicals including mercury and arsenic. Demand for coal and other energy sources has been rising amid the need to power growing data centers.

Delta Air Lines, which believed as recently as January that it was on track for its best financial year in company history, said Wednesday that disruptions in global trade have created such enormous uncertainty that it scratched its performance expectations for 2025.

It is a remarkable walk-back for the nation's most profitable airline, and other companies are following suit. Hours after Delta removed its guidance for the year, Walmart dropped the first-quarter operating profit guidance it had provided to investors, citing tariff risks.

Delta is cutting its flight schedule in anticipation of a slowdown in spending as businesses and households brace for higher prices.

European Chamber in China says the tariffs necessitate new strategies that may lead to higher prices for consumers

The European Chamber in China said Wednesday that the latest U.S. tariffs will necessitate a strategic rethink of business models and supply chains for many.

Some companies that currently produce in China for export to the U.S. will need to identify alternative markets, while others may need to move production from China in order to continue servicing the U.S. market.

China's countermeasures will also have a negative impact on some foreign-invested enterprises in China that import certain components from the U.S. for their production. For companies that are unable to source alternatives, this could also result in them having to move their production out of China altogether.

Monitoring metals

Gold futures rose for a second straight day, with futures climbing more than 3% to $3,085 per ounce Wednesday morning.

Interest in buying gold typically spikes in times of uncertainty, as anxious investors seek a ''safe haven'' for parking their money.

Beijing asks its citizens to think twice before visiting the US

Beijing today issued a travel advisory asking its citizens to evaluate risks of visiting the U.S. as tourists and to exercise caution.

The advisory, issued by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, cited the deterioration of the China-U.S. economic and trade relations as well as the ''safety situation'' in the U.S. The advisory came shortly after China raised its tariffs on the U.S. to 84%, as the trade war between the two countries escalated.

EU imposes new tariffs on $23 billion in US goods in retaliation for Trump's steel, aluminum tariffs

European Union member states voted to approve the retaliatory tariffs on $23 billion in goods in response to Trump's 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Members of the 27-country bloc repeated their preference for a negotiated deal to settle trade issues: ''The EU considers U.S. tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy. The EU has stated its clear preference to find negotiated outcomes with the U.S., which would be balanced and mutually beneficial.''

The head of the EU's executive commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has offered a zero-for-zero tariffs deal on industrial goods including cars. But Trump has said that's not enough to satisfy U.S. concerns.

US stocks quiver but hold relatively steady as bonds show more stress following tariff escalations

The New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

The U.S. stock market is quivering but holding relatively steady in early Wednesday trading after other markets worldwide swung sharply as Trump's trade war keeps escalating.

Financial markets have been prone to huge swings recently, though, not just day to day but hour to hour. On Tuesday alone, the S&P 500 careened between a gain of 4.1% and a loss of 3% for its second day of stunning reversals.

Wall Street's latest moves came after Trump's latest round of tariffs kicked in after midnight for imports from around the world. That included a 104% tax on things coming from China, and the world's second-largest economy quickly retaliated by saying it would raise tariffs on U.S. goods to 84% on Thursday.

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Pharma shares tumble on Trump's tariff pledge

President Donald Trump is promising to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals so that more medications would be made in the U.S. Some investors aren't waiting around to find out the exact details.

Eli Lilly shares dropped 2.7% early Wednesday, while Pfizer shares gave back 2.4%. Merck and Johnson & Johnson each fell almost 2%. In overseas trading, Novartis shares fell 5.8% and Roche Holding dropped 4.6%.

Trump lamented that the U.S. no longer produces many of the pharmaceuticals that Americans take, and said new tariffs would change that by bringing production of medication back to the U.S.

Volatility hits bond market

Some of Wednesday's strongest action was in the normally staid U.S. bond market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.44% from 4.26% late Tuesday and from just 4.01% at the end of last week. That's a huge move for the bond market and could be an indication of stress.

Regardless of the reasons behind it, the higher yields on Treasurys add pressure on the stock market and could push up rates for mortgages and other loans for U.S. households.

China uses World Trade Organization meeting to lash out at Trump

China has used a meeting of the World Trade Organization to lash out at the Trump administration's tariffs, accusing the United States of setting the global trading system ''ablaze.''

A Chinese envoy at a WTO council meeting on Wednesday said the U.S. tariffs infringed on the right of countries to develop, and noted for example that earthquake-hit Myanmar was facing an ''exorbitant'' 44% tariff and even an ''uninhabited island, home only to penguins and seals'' faced a 10% tariff.

The official said President Donald Trump's tariffs contravened the U.S.'s commitments under WTO rules, and the ''so-called 'reciprocal tariff'' has set the very architecture of the multilateral trading system ablaze.''

Contacted by the AP, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment.

Walmart pulls back its 1Q profit view amid tariff uncertainty

Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, is standing behind its full-year sales and operating income outlook even as President Trump has launched tariff wars with China and nearly every trading partner.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said Wednesday it still expects first-quarter sales growth of 3% to 4%. But it walked away from guidance for first-quarter operating profit growth of between 0.5% to 2%, citing the risk of tariffs.

Walmart said it wants ''to maintain flexibility to invest in price as tariffs are implemented.''

Trump promotes investing in US as antidote to higher tariffs

Trump says tariffs will be ''ZERO'' for companies that come back to America.

''This is a GREAT time to move your COMPANY into the United States of America,'' the

Republican president wrote on his social media site as he continues to defend sweeping global tariffs he announced last week that have roiled the stock market.

U.S. stock futures were sinking again in premarket trading on Wednesday after massive U.S. tariffs against China kicked in overnight, followed by China retaliating with a huge tariff increase on U.S. imports.

China has again vowed to ''fight to the end,'' raising tariffs on American goods to 84% to match Trump's addition of a 50% tariff, while adding an array of additional countermeasures Wednesday.

The 84% tariff will go into effect Thursday, and comes as a 104% tax on the country's exports to the U.S. came into effect. ''If the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end'' the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a statement introducing the white paper.

The government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House, as many other countries have started doing.