Day Traders Diary

4/9/25

The major averages surged to their best day in five years as President Trump reverses course, signaling a 90 day pause on most tariffs and reciprocal tariffs except on China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 2962 points, or 7%. The S&P 500 rose 474 points or 9% for its third best day since WW2. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1857 points or 12% for its second best day ever.

About 30 billion shares traded hands, making it the heaviest volume day on Wall Street in history, according to records that go back 18 years.

The news came in the afternoon as President Trump put a 90 day Pause on tariffs and substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately except for China. China's tariffs were raised to 125%.

Anxiety around the rollout of the tariffs fueled a four-day rout for stocks. Over the course of the previous four trading sessions, the Dow lost more than 4,500 points, while the S&P 500 sustained a 12% fall. The Nasdaq Composite fell 13% in that period.

Besides the rout in the equity markets, the bond market was not acting well, going the wrong way. The 10-year Treasury note yield ended up 5 basis points to 4.3% after climbing overnight above 4.5%. The 30-year Treasury bond yield hit a high of 5.02% overnight, a level not seen since November 2023. It was last at 4.715%.

The price of oil rose 5%, gold was up 3% while bitcoin rose 8%.