SPX: S&P 500 Whipsaws to Extreme as Fake News, Tariff Jitters Keep Traders on Their Toes

If Monday’s session taught us anything, it’s that traders are fired up and ready to go — fake news or not, buying is real.

📢 Hear Me Out: Rollercoaster but for Stocks

• The S&P 500 index kicked off the trading week in dizzying stomach-churning swings as traders were trying to keep up with every big headline out there. One particularly appealing headline showed traders were ready to buy back everything they sold at the first sight of tariff relief. Only that — it was fake news.
• The broad-based index slumped to start the cash session after dipping as low as 4% in pre-market trading. But things got worse, then they got super good and then bad again.

👋 Up $4 Trillion in 7 Minutes

• A fake report was picked by Bloomberg terminals (where a lot of algos get triggered just based on headlines), which said that Trump was “considering a 90-day pause in tariffs for all countries except China.” In the span of 7 minutes, the S&P 500 ripped 7%, adding roughly $4 trillion to its market value.
• The report was a misinterpretation of a Fox News interview with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett who was asked whether Trump would consider pausing tariffs for 90 days. “I think the president is gonna decide what the president is gonna decide,” he said.

👋 Down $4 Trillion in 7 Minutes

• The White House jumped right in saying there’s no such thing and called the report “fake news.” Again, Bloomberg terminals picked it up and the S&P 500 lost all 7% increase in the span of another 7 minutes. That’s how a gargantuan $4 trillion got sloshed around like it was just numbers on a screen (which it is?).
• Where are we now? Trump is adamant on his tariff stance and threatened to hit China with another 50% if Beijing didn’t walk back its retaliatory 34% tariff introduced last Friday. China said “no way” and this morning stock futures were up anyway. Go figure?