April 9 (UPI) — U.S. stock markets soared dramatically on Wednesday after President Donald Trump paused reciprocal tariffs for 90 days except for China.

During the day, Wall Street was on a roller coaster, initially rising but then slumping after the European Union and China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

The boards turned from dominantly red to mainly green. About 98% of Standard and Poor’s 500 stocks rallied.

“This is the pivotal moment we’ve been waiting for,” Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, told CNBC. “The immediate market reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, as investors interpret this as a step toward much-needed clarity.”

When Trump declared his pause at 1:18 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was about 350 points higher for the day. Seconds later, the 30-stock DJIA rose more than 2,000 points.

The S&P 500 finished up 9.52%, or 474.13 points, to 5,456.90, the third largest increase since World War II, with the others in 2008. The S&P had dropped below 5,000 at one point and was in a bear market from its record of 6,147.43 in February. The drop is now 11.2%, considered a correction with a bear market at 20%.

DJIA jumped 7.87%, or 2,962.86, to 40,608.45, the biggest climb since March 20, 2020. At one time Wednesday, the average climbed 3,000 points, five days after going down 2,231.07. The DJIA hit 45,014 on Dec. 4 but went under 40,000 with the last time Aug. 13. The DJIA is down 9.8% from the high.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1,857.06 points to 17,124.97, or 12.16%, its largest one-day jump since January 2001 and the second-best day ever. The index went into a bear market on Friday for the first time since 2022 but is now down 15.1% from a record high of 20,173.89 on Dec. 16.

About 30 billion shares were traded Wednesday on Wall Street, an all-time record, according to Nasdaq and FactSet data that go back 18 years.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.328% Wednesday, a rise of 0.068%, as investors made safety grabs of bonds, which lowered rates and lifted prices. It had reached 4.4% Wednesday morning, which is up from 3.9% before he unveiled the new tariffs earlier this month.

“I was watching the bond market,” Trump told reporters. “The bond market is very tricky. I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it’s beautiful. The bond market right now is beautiful. But yeah, I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy.”

West Texas Intermediate Crude for May was up $3.13 to $62.71 a barrel, reflecting energy traders’ concerns fuel demand will decline. Earlier this week it hovered at $60, with the last time it was under that barrier was in April 2021.

And gold was trading at $3,099.8, up $109.60 as investors look to metals amid uncertainty about tariffs and the economy. The record was $3,166 seven days ago.

Trump expressed optimism on his Truth Social account Wednesday with a post that proclaimed, “This is a great time to buy,” in all capital letters and with three exclamation points.

After pausing the reciprocal tariffs, Trump declined to say whether the state of stock markets was ultimately what prompted his change of heart.

“It’s still too early to signal an all clear,” Dave Sekera, Morningstar’s chief U.S. market strategist, told CNBC. “Trade negotiations have yet to start and once they do, there will be positive and negative headlines as each party positions itself to extract the maximum amount of concessions possible.”

Raymond James analyst Ed Mills wrote in a note to clients the pause is “both unbelievable but also entirely predictable,” adding it is “an implicit recognition that the current strategy was not fully vetted and unsustainable.”

But he said the tariffs still in place on China will “ultimately compound existing uncertainty” for companies.

Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, said the 125% tariff on Chinese imports will be a “huge problem for many businesses if they stay in place.

Market sectors

All sectors tracked by CNBC rose on Wednesday.

Technology led the way with a 14.15% rise, followed by Consumer Discretionary Sector at 11.36%, Communications Services 9.99%, industrials 8.97%, materials 8.63%. The smallest increase was utilities at 3.91%.

The stock price of Apple, which makes computers and cellphones in China, rose 15.33% after declining significantly for four days of trading. Chipmaker Nvidia gained 18.7%.

Nike, which depends on international supply chains and imports from Vietnam, was up 11.36%.

U.S. auto stocks rose as 46% of cars sold in the United States come from other nations.

Tesla, which makes most of its cars in the United States but imports parts, was up 22.69% to 272.20. The record high was 479.86 on Dec. 17 and it was half that price earlier in the week.

Ford, which makes fewer cars outside the U.S. than other major companies, rose 9.32. General Motors was up 7.67% and Stellantis 18.64%.

Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler and Dodge, also owns foreign brands like Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Maserati.

Airlines stocks spiked, led by United Airlines rising 26.1% followed by Delta Airlines 23.4%, American Airlines 22.6%. Southwest Airlines was 15.3%. Spirit, which left Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, is no longer a public company.