All major indices rose Wednesday morning after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant gave a speech promising that the U.S. would not abandon global trade. Elsewhere in the market, bond yields fell slightly and the dollar rose, both encouraging signs.
U.S. stocks continued to rise on Wednesday as markets welcomed news that the White House intends to soften its hardline tariff policy stance.
The S&P 500 rose 1.67%, the Nasdaq rose 2.5%, and the Dow Jones rose 419 points (1.07%).
Stocks closed higher on Tuesday, following a second straight day of gains. Meanwhile, gold prices fell 3.33% to $3,305 after hitting an all-time high of $3,500 on Tuesday. Gold and Bitcoin have become safe havens for investors hungry for risk amid continued stock market volatility. But demand for these assets has weakened as stocks have stabilized.
The relief among investors stemmed from a speech delivered by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant on Wednesday morning at the Institute of International Finance in Washington, D.C. In his speech, Bessant eased concerns that the U.S. would completely withdraw from global trade and reiterated the country’s commitment to continue to play a major role in international trade.
“I want to be clear: ‘America First’ does not mean the United States is alone,” Bessant said. “Rather, it calls for greater cooperation and mutual respect among trading partners.”
Bessant also downplayed the Trump administration’s hardline approach to China, which it had previously singled out for 145% tariffs. Now it appears the White House is sending a clearer signal to its Chinese counterparts, inviting them to work together on a trade deal.
“Everyone knows (China) needs to change,” Bessant said. “We want to help it change, too — because we need to rebalance, too.”
Fears that the world’s two largest economies could actually decouple in the worst-case scenario of an all-out trade conflict have spread across markets.
“The global trade underbelly is now being illuminated, giving investors double-downs on the Trump put,” wrote Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, referring to the investment thesis that Trump will change tariffs to keep the stock market happy.
Bond markets and the dollar also began to recover after sharp declines in the previous few days indicated an unusual lack of confidence in the U.S. economy. On Wednesday, 20-year and 30-year Treasury yields fell slightly. The 10-year Treasury yield also fell slightly. The dollar rose 0.93% against a basket of similar currencies.
Bitcoin closed up 0.22% on the day. Wednesday’s move broke a pattern of Bitcoin and stocks moving in opposite directions over the past few days, albeit slightly. Historically, the two have moved in sync.
“We intuitively believe that BTC’s strength is a result of weakness in the U.S. dollar index: Bitcoin rose in tandem with gold, the yen, the Swiss franc, and the euro against the dollar,” said Aurelie Barthere, a research analyst at crypto trading platform Nansen.
