NEW YORK — On Monday, an unfounded rumor suggesting that President Donald Trump was contemplating a halt on tariffs briefly caused a surge in the stock markets. This rumor was swiftly dispelled by the White House, underscoring the fragile state of Wall Street as concerns heightened over Trump’s tariffs potentially derailing the global economy.
The source of this incorrect information remains uncertain, although it seems to have stemmed from a misinterpretation of a statement by Kevin Hassett, who leads the White House National Economic Council. During a televised interview that morning, Hassett was asked if Trump might consider a 90-day moratorium on tariffs proposed by a notable hedge fund manager. Hassett responded, “I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide.”
Not long afterwards, several social media accounts on the platform X shared identical posts claiming that Hassett stated Trump was mulling over a tariff pause, excluding China. This rumor was quickly circulated among stock traders and some media outlets, causing the markets to soar briefly at the perceived positive development.
During this frenzy, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to overturn a 1,700-point loss, climbing over 800 points before plummeting back, ending up with a 629-point loss. The S&P 500 index mirrored these wild fluctuations.
The initial moments of the rumor caught the White House off guard as well. However, within 20 minutes, an official account dismissed the circulating story as “fake news,” swiftly quelling the temporary chaos it had introduced into the markets.