'fake News' And A $4 Trillion Swing: Inside The Stock Market's Wild Moves Today

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• The S&P 500 surged 8.5% in 34 minutes amid tariff delay rumors.
• But the White House denied reports of a 90-day pause.
• While investors hoped for a pivot from Trump, he was focused on new 50% tariffs against China.

Desperate for some relief from the relentless three-day stock rout, investors sparked a momentary rally Monday apparently based on what turned out to be fake news.

The S&P 500 rallied 8.5% in 34 minutes midmorning, briefly adding $3.6 trillion in market value.

That was after it fell as much as 4.7% and officially entered bear market territory at the opening bell. At its intraday peak, the S&P 500 was up 3.4% for the day.

The abrupt rally seems to have been sparked by talk of a 90-day delay to the tariffs to allow for negotiations.

Investors and companies have been desperately seeking relief from the president's trade war. Market pros say if his tariffs are enacted, they could usher in a new global trading order of uncertainty and protectionism.

Talk of a 90-day delay to the tariffs started circulating on Wall Street Monday morning, preceding the massive rally on Wall Street.

The source of the rumor appears to be a popular financial account on X that rapidly shares finance-related headlines.

The @DeItaone account, named *Walter Bloomberg, shared a now deleted post at 10:13 a.m. ET that said: "HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA."

The post referenced a Fox News interview from earlier in the day with Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council.

Hassett was asked whether the president would consider a 90-day pause on tariffs so countries would have more time to negotiate, as advocated by the billionaire investor Bill Ackman and former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

"I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide," Hassett responded.

The White House later told CNBC that a 90-day tariff pause was "fake news," and the stock market then gave up its briefly held gains.

The whiplash in the stock market on Monday indicates just how desperately investors are seeking a pivot from Trump.

The selling continued after reports rolled in that Trump was considering a new 50% tariff against China in reaction to its retaliatory tariffs announced on Friday. The S&P 500 was down about 2% at 11:48 a.m. ET.