SPX: S&P 500 Futures Pop 2% as Trump Dials Down Powell Attack, Eases China Tone

It is more flip-flopping or is this a real reprieve? Markets are betting on the latter — futures on major averages were up big time.

🕊️ Trump Turns Down the Heat, Markets Cheer

• S&P 500 futures jumped 2% on Wednesday, leading a global bounce that included Asian equities and the US dollar, after President Trump walked back threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell and suggested that his crushing 145% tariffs on China might not actually stick around much longer.
• “It won’t be that high,” Trump said. “It will come down substantially.” The sudden shift in tone comes after a week of volatility sparked by Trump’s public feud with Powell — which included calling him a “major loser” and claiming his “termination cannot come fast enough.”

🎙️ From “Termination” to “No Intention” — Trump Walks It Back

• Now, Trump is backpedaling, telling reporters he “never” intended to remove the Fed chief and blaming the chaos on media misinterpretation. “The press runs away with things,” he said, while still nudging Powell to cut rates. “This is a perfect time to lower interest rates... but I have no intention to fire him.”
• Against this backdrop, traders and investors are divided between the chances of this being another flip-flop by the President and a genuine de-escalation of policy risk.

📈 Risk-On Returns as Traders Buy the Dip

• By the looks of it, investors are choosing to believe the latter. Major indexes rebounded more than 2.5% on Tuesday, with Big Tech clawing back Monday’s losses. Wednesday’s futures action suggests traders are leaning into risk-on sentiment, betting that Powell stays in his seat — and tariffs stay off the ceiling.
• Futures contracts tied to the Nasdaq Composite were up more than 2% at their pre-market peak while Dow Jones futures were showing a gain of 1.2% ahead of the opening bell.