April 7, 2025.

Major indexes on the stock market began down more than 3% today, when, as Alison Morrow of CNN reported,

a rumor that Trump was considering delaying his tariffs by three months sent stock

surging upward by almost 8%. The rumor was unfounded. It appeared to begin from a small account

on X, but it indicated how desperate traders are to see an end to President Donald J. Trump's trade war.

As soon as the rumor was discredited,

the market began to fall again, although Treasury Secretary Scott Besson's announcement that he is opening trade negotiations with Japan and looking forward to talks with other countries,

appeared to reassure some traders that Trump's tariffs will not last.

The wild swings made the day one of the most volatile in stock market history.

It ended with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 349 points and the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ composite staying relatively flat. Futures for tomorrow are up slightly.

Foreign markets fared badly today, suggesting that the reality of Trump's tariffs is beginning

to sink in. Sam Goldfarb of the Wall Street Journal notes that Hong Kong's Hangseng took its

biggest dive since the 1997

Asian financial crisis, losing 13 percent, and that other markets also fell today.

Goldfarb reports that in the U.S. traders are deeply worried about losses, but also anxious

about missing a rebound if the administration changes

its policies. Hence the extreme volatility of the market. Generally, values over 30 are considered

indicators of increased risk and uncertainty in the Chicago Board Options Exchange,

or CBOE volatility index, the so-called fear gauge. Today, it's

spiked to 60. Business leaders are speaking out publicly against Trump's tariffs. Today, Ken Langone,

the co-founder of Home Depot, and a major Republican donor, told the financial times,

I don't understand the goddamn formula. Senate Republicans are also starting to push back.

...