Stocks surged on Wednesday afternoon, ripping higher after President Trump said he would back down on tariffs for most of the world for the next 90 days, citing new talks with foreign nations. The S&P 500 climbed over 7 percent in a matter of minutes after Mr. Trump posted the decision on Truth Social, sharply reversing days of losses. The S&P 500’s best day since the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. Some analysts cautioned that while the tariff reprieve was welcomed, there could still be more volatility ahead. The 90-day pause did not eliminate the profound uncertainty that has weighed on the stock market for weeks as Mr. Trump has rolled out his tariff plans, leaving companies often guessing how the ever-changing trade sanctions might affect their businesses. On Wednesday, Trump officials boasted that many nations were now willing to negotiate trade deals with the United States, but the outcome of those negotiations could remain unclear for months, prolonging the uncertainty for companies, investors and consumers. Despite the pause on some country-specific tariffs, a tariff of 10 percent will remain in place across America’s trading partners. The pause does not extend to China. Mr. Trump said he would instead raise tariffs on Chinese exports to 125 percent after Beijing announced a new round of retaliation duties. Beijing had earlier added its own 50 percent levy on American goods in response, bringing the total tariff on U.S. exports to China to 84 percent. Markets in Asia and Europe, which had closed for trading before Mr. Trump’s new tariff announcement, mostly slumped: Taiwan’s was the worst hit, sinking more than 5 percent, while benchmark indexes fell more than 3 percent in Japan. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 3.5 percent, and the FTSE 100 in London fell about 3 percent.
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