By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW YORK/TOKYO/LONDON (Worthy News) – Asian shares climbed, and a manic bond selloff stabilized on Thursday after U.S. President Donald J. Trump said he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries.
But market watchers said U.S. stock futures, which indicate stock prices after the stock markets open in New York, and the dollar were left out of Thursday’s relief rally despite an overnight surge on Wall Street.
Critics said investors’ confidence in the U.S. administration crumbled, and the “sell America” trade heated up.
Following a days-long market rout that erased trillions of dollars from global stocks and jolted U.S. Treasury bonds and the dollar, Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on many of his new tariffs in a shock reversal.
“The world, political and financial, is looking on with horror, not bemusement, at an administration that prioritizes the signing of an executive order for more water-power in shower heads, on the same day that the bond market breaks and investors question the long-term credibility of the administration having flip-flopped on the largest of their policies, tariffs,” said Martin Whetton, head of financial markets strategy at Westpac, the Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Sydney.
He spoke as Trump’s lower tariffs for most nations and a 125 percent tariff on Chinese imports came into force. Beijing said it would raise levies on U.S. imports to 84 percent from 34 percent.
Oil prices continued to climb in late trading Wednesday, with benchmark U.S. crude futures rising to about $63 a barrel.
The Magnificent Seven tech stocks gained more than $1.8 trillion in market value on Wednesday, a record. Nvidia led the way with a $440 billion market-value gain as its stock rose 19 percent. Tesla soared 23 percent, while Apple and Meta Platforms added 15 percent.
Stock markets in Europe were also expected to rally after Asia. Ironically, Trump told his followers on the social media platform Truth Social to invest in the stock market. Those who did made a small fortune as stocks soared to one-day levels not seen since World War Two.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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