Trump causes stock markets to soar: tariff break unleashes stock frenzy!

On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced a tariff break, which boosted US stock markets. Trump's announcement led to the Dow Jones Industrial closing with a gain of 7.87 percent to 40,608.45 points. The S&P 500 rose 9.52 percent to 5,456.90 points, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 12.02 percent to 19,145.06 points, as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

Under the tariff pause, certain tariffs will be suspended for 90 days, while a universal tariff rate of 10 percent will apply. In contrast, tariffs on Chinese imports were immediately increased to a total of 125 percent. Trump also expressed the expectation of an agreement with China and emphasized: “China wants to make a deal.” The shares of the “Magnificent Seven” – including Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla – rose between 9.7 and 22.7 percent. In addition, US airlines such as Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines recorded price gains of 22.6 to 26.1 percent.

Price developments on the market

The positive market reaction was supported by the recovery of US pharmaceutical stocks such as Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson, which posted gains of between 0.7 and 3.8 percent. Walmart shares rose 9.6 percent as the company reaffirmed its full-year targets. At the same time, the euro lost value in US trading and last cost 1.0944 US dollars, with the European Central Bank setting the reference rate at 1.1045 US dollars.

Nevertheless, the recent financial situation also presents challenges. The financial world reacted negatively to the announcement of drastic tariffs, which led to a sell-off of American government bonds and highlighted investors' distrust of the USA South German newspaper reported. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, said on Wednesday that he believes a recession in the US economy is likely.