Investors in the United States stock market saw a massive windfall on Wednesday, raking in gains estimated at $4.8 trillion, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day suspension of tariffs for all countries except China.
The market reacted positively to the announcement, rebounding sharply after several days of losses. By the close of trading on Wednesday, US stocks had surged into bullish territory, driven by renewed investor confidence.
According to market data from Dow Jones, the US stock market recorded a historic recovery, with its total market capitalization increasing by $4.8 trillion in a single session.
The S&P 500 soared by 8.9 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped by about 11 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also posted impressive gains, rising by 2,756 points, or 7.2 percent.
In response to the market turnaround, Goldman Sachs economist Jan Hatzius revised the firm’s earlier projection of an impending US recession. The investment bank updated its base case scenario to reflect a 0.5 percent GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, with the probability of a recession now reduced to 45 percent.
The positive sentiment in the US spilled over into Asian markets, which also recorded significant gains after Trump’s tariff announcement. Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 7 percent higher, while South Korea’s KOSPI climbed by 5 percent. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.6 percent, crossing the 3,200 mark, while the Shenzhen Component Index surged by 3.2 percent to reach 9,840 points.
Despite the stock market rally, the Chinese currency, the yuan, fell to its lowest level against the US dollar in 17 years on Wednesday. The onshore yuan closed at 7.3498 per dollar — its weakest level since December 2007.
Trump had earlier confirmed the implementation of a steep 104 percent tariff on Chinese goods, prompting China to retaliate with an 84 percent tariff on US products.
However, in a surprise move on Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day reciprocal tariff pause for all countries except China. Following this, the US government raised tariffs on Chinese goods even further, increasing them to 125 percent. Beijing, however, pledged not to escalate the trade war despite the latest US action.
