Social media post triggers sharp S&P 500 reversal after fake Trump tariff pause claim spreads
Stock markets swung wildly Monday morning, adding US$2.4tn in value before losing it minutes later, following false reports that US President Donald Trump was weighing a 90-day pause on tariffs.
The Wall Street Journal reported the entire episode unfolded in just over 30 minutes and was driven by misleading headlines that triggered high-frequency trading reactions.
Around 10:10 am in New York, a headline began circulating on social media: “HASSETT: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.”
Source: X.com
The post appeared to reference Kevin Hassett, director of the US National Economic Council.
Markets responded swiftly. After opening down 4.7 percent, the S&P 500 reversed course, rising 3.4 percent.
Between 10:08 am and 10:18 am, the index gained US$2.4tn in market value, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
However, the White House denied the rumour. Within 23 minutes, the S&P 500 fell again, losing US$2.5tn in value by 10:41 am.
The index ultimately closed the day down 0.2 percent. The day’s trading marked the S&P 500’s widest intraday range since March 2020.
The false headline appeared on the anonymous X account Walter Bloomberg by 10:13 am.
Source: X.com
Known for posting trading-related news in capital letters copied from Bloomberg Terminal, the account has nearly one million followers but has no affiliation with Bloomberg News.
When asked where he got the source from, he replied with “Reuters.”
According to a direct message to The Wall Street Journal, the person behind Walter Bloomberg saw the headline on X at 10:09 am and “couldn’t find anything on the main wires at the time.”
The account said, “After a quick search on X, I traced the headline to a post by T3 Trading Group, LLC. Given the market movement (+4.5%), I deemed the headline reliable and posted it at 10:13.”
An X account called T3 Live posted the same headline at 10:12 am, and the earliest mention appeared at 10:11 am from another anonymous account, Hammer Capital, which describes itself as “Memes & Vibes” and has 692 followers.
Source: X.com
Neither T3 Trading Group, T3 Live, nor Hammer Capital were immediately available for comment.
Major media outlets picked up the headline quickly.
Around 10:15 am, a CNBC anchor read it aloud on-air and said, “We’ll try and source that, exactly where that came from.”
CNBC staff attempted to verify the rumour.
Internally, an employee mistakenly believed the report had been confirmed and added the headline to the on-screen chyron by 10:18 am: “HASSET: TRUMP IS CONSIDERING A 90-DAY PAUSE IN TARIFFS FOR ALL COUNTRIES EXCEPT CHINA.”
Reuters then distributed the same news at 10:20 am, citing CNBC.
A CNBC spokeswoman later stated: “As we were chasing the news of the market moves in real-time, we aired unconfirmed information in a banner. Our reporters quickly made a correction on air.”
A Reuters spokeswoman said the outlet had published a story on April 7, based on a CNBC headline, claiming White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump was considering a 90-day tariff pause on all countries except China.
She said, “The White House denied the report.”
Reuters withdrew the story and expressed regret for the error.
The rumour may have stemmed from a Fox News segment earlier that morning.
In an interview on “Fox & Friends” before the market opened, Hassett was asked whether the administration would consider a 90-day tariff pause.
He replied: “Yeah, I think the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide. There are more than 50 countries in negotiation with the president,” without elaborating.
