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A misinterpreted television appearance sparked a wild ride on Wall Street, triggering a staggering $6 trillion shift in market capitalization in just 30 minutes.
The drama unfolded following a weekend of uncertainty surrounding potential tariff adjustments. Stocks initially plummeted on Monday morning, only to surge nearly 10% upon reports of a possible 90-day tariff pause.
However, the euphoria was short-lived, because the “pause” report proved inaccurate.
The Origin of the Market Jitters
The initial spark came from X user @DeItaone, an account known for posting business headlines. At 10:13 a.m. ET, @DeItaone tweeted information seemingly derived from a Fox News interview featuring White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett. The original clip was posted by @atrupar.
During the interview, Hassett was asked about the possibility of a 90-day tariff pause. His response, “Yep, you know, I think the president is going to decide what the president’s going to decide,” was interpreted as a confirmation of the pause.
Within five minutes of @DeItaone’s post, the S&P saw its market capitalization swell by over $3 trillion from its morning low.
Reality Bites: The Pause That Wasn’t
The rally’s foundation quickly crumbled. At 10:23 a.m. ET, CNBC reported that the White House was “unaware” of any plans for a tariff pause. Stocks began to decline, with losses accelerating after an official White House statement dismissing the reports as “fake news” at 10:39 a.m. ET.
Reuters published a “flash” at 10:27 a.m. ET stating that Hassett said President Donald Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause on all countries except China.
By 10:40 a.m. ET, the S&P had erased approximately $2.5 trillion from its peak, reached just 20 minutes prior. In total, Wall Street experienced a near $6 trillion swing in market capitalization within a half-hour.
Lessons Learned?
“There’s no real accountability in these situations,” observed CNN media analyst Brian Stelter. “When a random user on social media says something people want to hear, it can drive the market…investors are on a hair-trigger alert.”
This incident underscores the market’s sensitivity to trade policy news and the potential for misinformation to cause significant volatility.