President Donald Trump’s unprecedented tariffs, particularly on China, and recent attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell caused alarm among some of his top advisers and America’s biggest CEOs, who warned of financial chaos and store shelves that could go bare, people familiar with the conversations said.
The warnings — and the markets’ own volatility this week — seemed to have broken through. Trump backed down Tuesday from his threats to try to remove Powell from the job, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “I have no intention of firing him.”
Business
Markets
DOW 40,093.40 1.23%
S&P 500 5,484.77 2.03%
NASDAQ 17,166.04 2.74%
Fear & Greed Index
31
Trump was warned of empty shelves and financial turmoil from tariffs and firing Powell. His U-turn pushed stocks higher
By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and David Goldman, CNN
6 minute read
Updated 12:28 PM EDT, Thu April 24, 2025
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said repeatedly the central bank will only make a decision to raise or lower rates after careful consideration.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said repeatedly the central bank will only make a decision to raise or lower rates after careful consideration. Erin Hooley/AP
CNN
—
President Donald Trump’s unprecedented tariffs, particularly on China, and recent attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell caused alarm among some of his top advisers and America’s biggest CEOs, who warned of financial chaos and store shelves that could go bare, people familiar with the conversations said.
The warnings — and the markets’ own volatility this week — seemed to have broken through. Trump backed down Tuesday from his threats to try to remove Powell from the job, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “I have no intention of firing him.”
That prompted sighs of relief on Wall Street. A day after markets boomed on comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Trump would seek to de-escalate the trade war with China, US markets gained again on Wednesday.
Top administration officials were also relieved by Trump’s Oval Office statement on Powell, the people familiar with the matter said. The officials had become unnerved by the heated rhetoric and wary of a prolonged legal battle should Trump attempt to unseat the Fed chair.
The Dow closed higher by 420 points, or 1.07%. The broader S&P 500 gained 1.67% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 2.5%.
The three major indexes held on to a rally but finished well below their highest levels of the day. The Dow surged nearly 1,200 points in the morning before pulling back: Stocks came off their highest levels after Bessent cautioned that it could take considerable time to rebalance trade between the United States and China.
There is a “2 to 3-year timeline for the full rebalancing,” Bessent told a group of reporters on Wednesday after delivering a speech at an event hosted by the Institute of International Finance, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.
The comments, previously reported by Bloomberg News and CNBC, underscore how obstacles remain even as investors are eager for trade agreements and CEOs seek clarity on tariffs.
Markets
DOW40,093.401.23%
S&P 5005,484.772.03%
NASDAQ17,166.042.74%
Trump was warned of empty shelves and financial turmoil from tariffs and firing Powell. His U-turn pushed stocks higher
CNN —
President Donald Trump’s unprecedented tariffs, particularly on China, and recent attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell caused alarm among some of his top advisers and America’s biggest CEOs, who warned of financial chaos and store shelves that could go bare, people familiar with the conversations said.
The warnings — and the markets’ own volatility this week — seemed to have broken through. Trump backed down Tuesday from his threats to try to remove Powell from the job, telling reporters in the Oval Office: “I have no intention of firing him.”
That prompted sighs of relief on Wall Street. A day after markets boomed on comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Trump would seek to de-escalate the trade war with China, US markets gained again on Wednesday.
Top administration officials were also relieved by Trump’s Oval Office statement on Powell, the people familiar with the matter said. The officials had become unnerved by the heated rhetoric and wary of a prolonged legal battle should Trump attempt to unseat the Fed chair.
The Dow closed higher by 420 points, or 1.07%. The broader S&P 500 gained 1.67% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 2.5%.
The three major indexes held on to a rally but finished well below their highest levels of the day. The Dow surged nearly 1,200 points in the morning before pulling back: Stocks came off their highest levels after Bessent cautioned that it could take considerable time to rebalance trade between the United States and China.
Treasury secretary: China needs to change
01:17
There is a “2 to 3-year timeline for the full rebalancing,” Bessent told a group of reporters on Wednesday after delivering a speech at an event hosted by the Institute of International Finance, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.
The comments, previously reported by Bloomberg News and CNBC, underscore how obstacles remain even as investors are eager for trade agreements and CEOs seek clarity on tariffs.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said on Fox News there will be “no unilateral reduction in tariffs against China.”
“The president has made it clear China needs to make a deal with the United States of America, and we are optimistic that will happen,” Leavitt said. “And when that continues, it will be up to the president what the tariff rate on China will be.”
Trump on Wednesday told reporters that his administration will get a “fair deal” with China on trade, adding more broadly that negotiations with countries “are going very well.”
When Trump was asked in an impromptu gaggle outside the White House if he was talking to China actively, he responded: “Actively. Everything’s active.”
