Markets Soar As Treasury Secretary Reportedly Says Tariff Standoff With China Is Unsustainable And Set To De-Escalate

Markets are soaring on Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors he expects the tariff standoff with China to de-escalate as the current situation is not sustainable.

Speaking at a closed-door investor summit hosted by JPMorgan Chase in Washington, Bessent said that negotiations haven't started but a deal is possible. Markets, which were already up during the session, continue to climb as a result. The S&P 500 is up more than 2.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumps over 3.3%.

The Treasury Department didn't immediately answer to a request for comment from the outlet, but the development comes as markets dropped heavily on Monday and Wall Street is set to close its worst April since the Great Depression.

In this context, NYU business professor Scott Galloway said on his "Pivot" podcast that a wave of Fortune 500 CEOs and possibly even some Republican lawmakers will begin publicly criticizing Trump's actions if the scenario doesn't change soon.

"I think you're going to see in the next one or two weeks, a cadre of Fortune 500 CEOs, Republicans stand up, business leaders stand up and say, okay, enough already. While you all claim he's playing 4D chess, at this point we're worried he's going to start eating the pieces. This guy is making the stupidest decisions," Galloway said.

Trump has not given updates about potential deals, especially as one with Japan seems to be stalling, but further scared markets on Monday by again flirting with a red line for Wall Street: forcing the removal of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, affecting the central bank's independence.

Trump took a new jab at Powell on Monday, saying "'Preemptive Cuts' in Interest Rates are being called for by many." "With Energy Costs way down, food prices (including Biden's egg disaster!) substantially lower, and most other "things" trending down, there is virtually No Inflation. With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW," Trump said in his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump is actually studying whether he can dismiss Powell, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said last week.