Volatility across markets was unprecedented. The VIX Index — what’s known as Wall Street’s fear gauge — plunged the most on record, while Treasuries have never fluctuated so wildly, with 2- and 30-year yields swinging over 0.3 percentage points on Monday and Wednesday. The two hadn’t seen such extreme moves at the same time since records begin in 1998.
Five gut-wrenching days after Donald Trump’s America-versus-the-world trade war threw stock and bond markets around the globe into disarray, he backpedaled and, in the process, pulled the financial system back from the brink.
After starting the day lower, the S&P 500 Index soared nearly 10%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped by the most since 2001. Short-term Treasuries sank, reversing earlier gains, as investors pared bets on interest-rate cuts and the dollar rose versus haven currencies like the Japanese yen and Swiss franc.
