Stock Market Surge Evaporates As Headline Roulette Plagues Traders; 'Fake News,' White House Says, In Response To 90-Day Tariff Pause

Hopes that President Donald Trump could delay the sweeping reciprocal tariffs his administration announced last week appears to be the driving force behind the wild volatility in markets Monday morning.

What To Know: Trump announced aggressive tariffs on numerous countries last week, raising concerns about higher prices for consumers, weakening demand and a potential recession.

The tariff announcement sparked a massive selloff in broader markets with the S&P 500 closing out its worst week since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Stocks entered bear market territory Monday morning but staged a sharp reversal after a headline circled suggesting Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs, citing National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett as the source.

Hassett was on Fox Business Monday morning discussing tariffs, but he didn’t mention anything about a potential pause from the Trump administration.

It’s not clear where the headline originated, but Carl Quintanilla, co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” reported it shortly after the market soared. CNBC noted that it was working to confirm the headline and did not provide a source for the news.

See Also: Scaramucci on Tariffs: ‘There Is Stupid and Then There Is Donald Trump Stupid’

Popular financial news accounts @zerohedge and @deitaone appear to have posted the headline just before CNBC reported it. The accounts attributed the information to Reuters.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reportedly told CNBC Monday morning that the reports suggesting the Trump administration was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs were “fake news.”

The official White House X account reposted a clip of a CNBC Senior Washington Correspondent Eamon Javers reporting the “fake news” response on Monday.

The SPDR S&P 500 SPY whipsawed back and forth Monday morning as investors digested the “fake news.” After entering bear market territory in early trading, the SPY surged and turned positive on the session before pulling back. The SPY was down 1.75% at $496.42 at the time of publication, per Benzinga Pro.

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