This week started with a set of chaotic events that raised and crushed the US stock market in less than one hour, thanks to mainstream rumors.
By Wahid Pessarlay
Editor Julia Sakovich
Updated
3 mins read
Financial markets gained optimism on Monday, April 7, as the rumors of a 90-day tariff pause swirled following a massive crash on April 4.
The bullish momentum for the US stocks was short-lived and didn’t even last one hour.
At 10:10 AM ET, popular accounts on X started to share rumors of a potential 90-day tariff pause, except for China, by US President Donald Trump. The main source of the false news was and is still unknown but soon impacted the financial markets.
What just happened?
At 10:10 AM ET, rumors emerged that the White House was considering a “90-day tariff pause.”
At 10:15 AM ET, CNBC reported that Trump is considering a 90-day pause on tariffs for ALL countries except for China.
By 10:18 AM ET, the S&P 500 had added over +$3… pic.twitter.com/MtETHanUcl
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 7, 2025
Some believe that the rumors started with a misinterpretation of a Fox News interview with the Director of the US National Economic Council Kevin Hassett. Hassett backed Trump’s tariff strategy but never mentioned a “tariff pause”.
At 10:15 AM ET, mainstream media outlets reported the rumors as breaking news. A few minutes later, the stock and crypto markets skyrocketed.
At 10:25 AM ET, financial journalists and analysts began sharing conflicting reports as the White House reportedly didn’t know of any tariff pause. A minute later, CNBC retracted its report, claiming the rumors were false.
At 10:34 AM ET, the White House official rejected the rumors, calling it “fake news”.
At 10:40 AM ET, the S&P 500 index lost $2.5 trillion of its value after taking a 9.6% blow.
Unlike most of the US stocks and indexes, Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock sustained its upward momentum and closed the day with a 3.53% rise. The NVDA market cap reached $2.38 trillion and is trading at $97.64.
The crypto market also remained bullish despite the high volatility in the stock market. The global cryptocurrency market cap rose 4.9% to $2.52 trillion after a $300 billion crash on Monday.
According to a Coinspeaker report, over 440,000 crypto traders lost over $1.3 billion to liquidations, hinting at the arrival of a bear market.
The digital tokens related to artificial intelligence and big data protocols are among the top gainers. These assets usually react to NVDA’s price movements.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, AI-related tokens’ market value increased by 7.3% in the past 24 hours to $22.55 billion. The sector’s daily trading volume also surged 45% to $3.76 billion.
NEAR Protocol NEAR $2.17 24h volatility: 2.6% Market cap: $2.60 B Vol. 24h: $145.30 M is leading the category with a $2.5 billion market cap, followed by Internet Computer’s ICP $5.13 24h volatility: 0.5% Market cap: $2.49 B Vol. 24h: $50.09 M $2.2 billion value.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Wahid has been analyzing and reporting on the latest trends in the decentralized ecosystem since 2019. He has over 4,000 articles to his name and his work has been featured on some of the leading outlets including Yahoo Finance, Investing.com, Cointelegraph, and Benzinga. Other than reporting, Wahid likes to connect the dots between DeFi and macro on his newsletter, On-chain Monk.
