Trump said it was a ‘great time to buy’ hours before Wall Street surged $7 trillion on his backflip

The social media post landed at 9.37am in New York.

“This is a great time to buy,” President Donald Trump said.

US President Donald Trump’s tariff reversal sent Wall Street charging to its best day since the GFC.Credit: Bloomberg

Stocks had opened lower after a four-day rout wiped more than $US6 trillion ($9.8 trillion) from equity values, leaving the S&P 500 on the brink of a bear market. Hours earlier, the harshest tariffs on US trading partners in more than a century had taken effect.

The selling was virtually down to one reason: Trump’s global trade war. And as such, Trump was uniquely situated to do something about it.

Of course, the president and his advisers had spent the past week insisting that there was no way to escape the levies. “My policies will never change,” Trump posted last week.

If they did, though, that would be worth a lot. Going by the rally Monday after a false rumour of a tariff pause, the riches would top $US2 trillion in stock gains.

As the S&P 500 cratered Monday and Tuesday, Trump reiterated that he wasn’t watching the market, that the economy need to “take medicine” in order to grow stronger. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Wall Street was not the focus. It was Main Street’s turn, he said.

And then came Trump’s post on Wednesday morning (US time).

Three and a half hours later, Monday’s rumour became Wednesday’s news. Trump was pausing the harshest tariffs on most countries, though crucially not China. Stocks soared in a matter of minutes. The S&P 500 rose more than 9 per cent, delivering a $US4.3 trillion ($7 trillion) windfall.

Senator Adam Schiff on Wednesday called on Congress to investigate whether Trump engaged in insider trading or market manipulation with his move.

“I’m going to do my best to find out,” Schiff, a California Democrat, told TIME. “Family meme coins and all the rest of it are not beyond insider trading or enriching themselves. I hope to find out soon.”

The world’s wealthiest added $US304 billion ($494 billion) to their combined net worth on Wednesday — the largest one-day gain in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.Wednesday’s total wealth gain beat the previous record of $US233 billion set in March 2022, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell raised rates for the first time in years but reassured investors that the economy remained resilient.

The largest individual gainer Wednesday was Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who added $US36 billion to his fortune as the EV manufacturer’s stock jumped 23 per cent, followed by Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, who gained almost $US26 billion.

When David Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, saw Trump’s post he didn’t believe it was real at first.

“Does that break the rules? I don’t know, not that Trump follows any set of rules,” Wagner said, adding that it shifts the rules of engagement in the market. “Obviously now you’re going to look to Trump for any kind of sign.”

The memory of Trump saying something similar in his first term is “something we probably should not have forgotten about. He does things like that,” said Wagner.

“The rules have changed in regards to the market and the president directly interfering.”

More to come

Bloomberg

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