| US trading ended Wednesday with the biggest surge in stocks since 2020 after President Donald Trump said he'd pause tariffs on dozens of countries for 90 days. Asked the reason for the reprieve, Trump said that people were "getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid". The president has been under intense pressure from business leaders and investors to reverse course. The rally sent the S&P 500 soaring more than 9%. It was an abrupt reversal from the gauge's previous teetering on the brink of a 20% bear-market plunge. The index is still down more then 7% year to date and closed lower than on Apr. 2, which Trump had dubbed "Liberation Day" to reflect the date at which tariffs went into effect. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 logged its biggest gain since October 2008. Goldman Sachs's basket of the most-shorted stocks jumped 12.5%. Economists at Goldman rescinded their forecast for a US recession after Trump announced the pause. The pause came about 13 hours after higher duties on 56 nations and the European Union took effect. It wasn't immediately clear which nations would receive relief, and even those that qualify will remain taxed at the 10% baseline rate that went into effect on Saturday. Duties on China will still be lifted further, to 125%. "China wants to make a deal," Trump said. China remaining in the cross-hairs meant concern still abounded on trading floors. "We still have to understand what the new world order looks like," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners. Volatility is "the name of the game for the next little while, until negotiations are done. And they're never going to be done," Forrest said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared the turnabout a victory for Trump, telling reporters the president "created maximum negotiating leverage for himself" in talks with other nations. "It feels like his advisers have talked him off the cliff," said Laura Lau, senior vice-president and chief investment officer at Brompton Corp. Bonds eased an earlier selloff but remained down across maturities for a third day. Trump was looking at the bond market as he made his decision, he told reporters. Hours earlier, a dramatic selloff of sovereign debt had ignited speculation among strategists that the Federal Reserve might eventually need to step in to help. "The bond market is very tricky," the president said. "I was watching it. But if you look at it now, it's beautiful — the bond market right now. But I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy." Bitcoin jumped almost 8% to as much as $82,967.49 after beginning Wednesday in the red. Measures of fear in the US corporate bond market showed worry declining the most since 2020. Earlier on Wednesday, shortly after markets opened for trading, Trump urged Americans to stay calm and continue investing. He posted on social media that "this is a great time to buy!!!" On that, he was proved right. Follow our live blog for the latest | 
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