Stocks have historic day

COEUR d’ALENE — President Donald Trump's announcement of a 90-day pause on all higher targeted tariffs, with the exception of China, sent stocks on a one-day rocket ride of nearly 3,000 points Wednesday.

The earlier threat of higher tariffs had sent global markets reeling. With the threat removed, Darin Hayes, senior vice president and financial advisor with D.A. Davidson in Coeur d’Alene, said there was an “immediate” reaction. 

“It’s commonly referred to as a relief rally,” he said. “Whether or not it’s sustainable remains to be seen.” 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2,963 points higher Wednesday, while the S&P 500 stock index jumped 9.5% after Trump’s announcement. 

It was a relief for investors.

“Sometimes it takes a whole year to get that,” Hayes said. “It’s a big move.” 

Amid the pause, uncertainty remains. 

“Even today, Delta Airlines and Walmart both had earnings calls where they declined to give forward guidance because things are so unclear in terms of trade policy,” Hayes said. “That’s unusual. It shows there’s a high level of uncertainty about trade policy, so it’s difficult for companies to plan.” 

Hayes noted that investing is much different than trading and that he and others in his field are holding fast. 

“We deal mostly with long-term investors,” he said. “The volatility of the last couple of weeks — we’re not reacting to that at all. We’re sticking with long-term financial plans.” 

After Wednesday’s announcement, Goldman Sachs economists reverted to a prior forecast predicting a 45% chance of recession in the next 12 months, according to the Wall Street Journal. Before the pause, Goldman Sachs forecast that a recession was highly likely to occur. 

In a Wednesday afternoon post on Truth Social, Trump said he would raise duties for China from 104% to 125% after China announced additional retaliatory tariffs against the United States earlier in the day. 

“At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” he wrote, adding that his decision to pause higher tariffs for most other countries came about because more than 75 trading partners didn’t retaliate and have reached out to “negotiate a solution.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.