Stock Market Today: Markets Bounce After Trump Says He Won’t Try to Fire Fed Chair Powell

U.S. markets are poised to open with big gains, a clear sign of relief after President Donald Trump said he would not attempt to fire the head of the Federal Reserve.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.9% before the bell Wednesday, while S&P 500 futures rose 2.6%. Nasdaq futures climbed a full 3%.

Trump, upset that the Federal Reserve was not cutting interest rates immediately, said that he could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. But Trump told reporters Tuesday, “I have no intention of firing him.”

Trump wants Powell and the Fed to resume cutting its benchmark borrowing rate to help boost the economy. Powell and other Fed official have said they plan to remain cautious with interest rates amid the economic uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs and inflation that remains above the Fed’s 2% target.

Most legal scholars agree that Trump can’t fire Powell from the Fed’s board of governors, and there is no legal precedent for doing so. However, there is less agreement over whether a president can remove him as chair.

Markets are also reacting to comments Tuesday from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He said the ongoing tariffs showdown with China is unsustainable and he expects a “de-escalation” in the trade war.

“Of course, markets will continue to listen out for the latest White House rhetoric on tariffs and any hints of upcoming trade deals. As such, market direction will more likely than not continue to be dictated by Trump’s latest whims regarding tariffs and trade,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

The only prediction many Wall Street strategists are willing to make is that financial markets will likely continue to gyrate along with hopes that Trump may negotiate deals with other countries to lower his tariffs. If no such deals come quickly enough, many investors expect the economy to fall into a recession.

Among stocks seeing a big rebound is Tesla, after Elon Musk that he will spend less time in Washington and more time running his electric vehicle company. The promise follows the company’s quarterly financial report late Tuesday and a massive tail off in profit. Tesla has been racked by vandalism of its cars on the street, it’s dealerships, widespread protests and calls for a consumer boycott, all a backlash to Musk’s oversight of cost-cutting efforts for the U.S. government.

Musk’s promise to distance himself from the Trump administration overshadowed fading profits at Tesla, which tumbled from $1.39 billion to $409 million in the first quarter.

Tesla shares rose 7% before the opening bell Wednesday.

Big technology stocks also gained early Wednesday, with Nvidia leading the way. The chipmaker’s shares have swung wildly with the recent market undulations and were up 5.5% before the bell.

Apple rose 3% and Meta gained 4.5%, after the European Union fined the companies 500 million euros and 200 million euros, respectively, for breaching its digital competition rules.

In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.4%, while Germany’s DAX rose 2.6%. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1.4%.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.9% to finish at 34,868.63. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.3% to 7,920.50. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.6% to 2,525.56. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.4% to 222,072.62, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.1% to 3,296.36.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 55 cents to $64.22 a barrel, but is still on track for its worst month since October 2023. That’s been good for consumers, with the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. Wednesday coming in at $3.17, nearly 14% lower than last year at this point.

Brent crude, the international standard added 54 cents to $67.98 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar declined to 141.99 Japanese yen from 142.37 yen. The euro cost $1.1392, up from $1.1379.