Wall Street surged after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause in tariffs unveiled last week.

The policy changes also include a lowered overall tariff of 10% during that 90-day period, and an increase in tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%, from the 104% that went into effect overnight.

Market Snapshot

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2,962.86 points, or 7.87%, to 40,608.45, the S&P 500 rose 474.13 points, or 9.52%, to 5,456.90 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1,857.06 points, or 12.16%, to 17,124.97. Palantir Technologies Inc. rose 19%.

Market Movers

Wal-Mart was up 9.6%. The world's largest retailer said before the news of the tariff pause that the range of outcomes for first-quarter operating income growth had widened. Walmart pointed to a "less favorable category mix, higher casualty claims expense, and the desire to maintain flexibility to invest in price as tariffs are implemented." The company reaffirmed its sales guidance for the first quarter and noted its forecasts for fiscal 2026 remained unchanged despite recent volatility in demand.

Following Trump's announcement, Pfizer gained 3%, Merck rose 3.8%, Bristol-Myers Squibb gained 1.3%, and AbbVie gained 2.4%. Trump had said he would be announcing a major tariff on pharmaceutical products "very shortly" in a bid to bring production back to the U.S.

Apple surged 15% to $198.85 after Trump's tariff announcement. It reclaimed its title as the most valuable public company after Microsoft surpassed it on Wednesday. Shares were upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies but the price target was reduced to $167.88 from $202.33. The stock closed down 5% on Tuesday and had dropped 23% over the past four trading sessions. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump wants iPhones to be manufactured in the U.S., but analysts believe domestic iPhone manufacturing isn't tenable on a financial basis.

Microsoft was up 10%. The software company briefly moved ahead of Apple as the most valuable public company on Tuesday before moving back into second place on Wednesday. Microsoft closed with a market capitalization of $2.9 trillion versus Apple's $2.99 trillion.

Tesla Motors was up 23% after falling 4.9% on Tuesday. Benchmark analyst Mickey Legg added Tesla stock to the firm's "Benchmark's Best Ideas" list. Coming into Wednesday, shares of the electric-vehicle company had fallen 34% this year.

Delta Air Lines reported first-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analysts' estimates as revenue rose 3.3%. The carrier said it was withholding its full-year outlook because of "broad economic uncertainty, " but the stock surged 23% as the market took off in response to the pause on tariffs.

NVIDIA was up 19% Wednesday. The maker of artificial-intelligence chips dropped 1.4% on Tuesday to close at $96.30. Coming into Wednesday, Nvidia shares had fallen 28% this year, encouraging some buying. Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund bought a total of 343,657 shares of Nvidia on Monday and Tuesday.

Cal-Maine Foods reported a huge jump in fiscal third-quarter earnings. Sales more than doubled following a spike in egg prices, but the results missed analysts' estimates. The company also said it was cooperating with a Justice Department investigation into the causes of the rise in U.S. egg prices. The stock was up 2.5%.

Constellation Energy Corp rose 17% to $215.45 after analysts at Citi upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $232. The analysts said Constellation Energy's "risk-reward profile looks more attractive" after the selloff triggered by Trump's tariffs.

Ford rose 9.3% to $9.50. The auto maker was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Bernstein. Ford imports about 20% of the cars it sells in the U.S., but tariffs on imported parts will raise costs.

Market News

Former Treasury Secretary Summers Says Govt 'Rightly Scared After Collapsing Markets'

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers on Wednesday said U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on most reciprocal tariffs was an example of "bullies" backing down, and that the collapse in equity markets spurred concern.

"It is tragic to see the United States following banana republic policy approaches and market patterns," Summers said on X (formerly Twitter).

"The Administration was crowing over the weekend about all the countries that wanted to talk. No postponement then. Now they are rightly scared after collapsing markets. Reckless improvisation not a strategy and total dishonesty about what is driving them," he added.

Elon Musk Adds $36B to Wealth in Single Day as Markets Soar on Tariff Pause

Elon Musk was the biggest winner in a historic windfall for the world’s richest people on Wednesday, as global stock markets surged and the Tesla Motors chief executive added a staggering $36 billion to his net worth in just one day, Bloomberg News reported.

Following Musk, Meta Platforms, Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg gained nearly $26 billion, while NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang saw a $15.5 billion boost as chipmaker stocks rebounded. Carvana Co. Chief Executive Ernest Garcia III notched the day’s largest percentage gain, with his wealth increasing by 25% — up $1.4 billion, according to Bloomberg News.