A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell on March 5, 2025, in New York City.
Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty Images
Stock futures climbed on Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump said he doesn't plan to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from his post as central bank leader.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 416 points, or 1.06%. popped 1.45%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 1.69%.
The rally in futures came after Trump said late Tuesday that he has "no intention" of firing Powell, whose term as Fed chair will end in May 2026.
The comment is a reversal of sorts for the president, who fired off barbs against Powell as recently as Monday, calling the central bank leader a "major loser" and demanding that interest rates come down. Just last week, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Powell's "termination cannot come fast enough."
Stocks are coming off of a winning session, with the 30-stock Dow surging more than 1,000 points to end a four-day losing streak. Both the and the Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 2%.
Investor sentiment in the regular session appeared to be aided by comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who hinted at the possibility of "de-escalation" in Trump's trade war with China. "No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable," Bessent said while speaking with a group of investors on Tuesday at a meeting hosted by JPMorgan Chase, according to a person in the room.
The Treasury secretary's comments appeared to soothe investors' worries around trade policy tensions. Although Trump earlier this month issued a 90-day pause on much of his "reciprocal" tariffs, he left in place a 145% duty on China. Beijing responded with a retaliatory tariff of 125%, which further escalated already shaky relations between the U.S. and China.
Even as stocks surged in the session, jittery investors have been flocking toward safe-haven assets in recent weeks. Gold futures are up more than 8% in April, and they touched an all-time high of $3,509.90 on Tuesday.
"There is a ton of money hiding out in gold at the moment, so there's plenty of unproductive money that will find its way back into the market at some point," said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. "The money is there, it's just yellow at the moment."
Trump says he doesn’t plan to get rid of Fed Chair Jerome Powell
President Donald Trump said that he has "no intention" of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
When asked whether he had intentions of removing the central bank leader, Trump said, "None whatsoever." The president spoke at the Oval Office late Tuesday.
Stock futures opened sharply higher after Trump's comments, with Dow futures surging 500 points.
Powell's term as Fed chair will end in May 2026.
—Kevin Breuninger, Darla Mercado
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours
Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading:
- Tesla — Shares were marginally lower in extended trading after first-quarter results missed analysts' estimates on the top and bottom lines. The electric vehicle company earned an adjusted 27 cents per share on revenue of $19.34 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG were looking for 39 cents per share in earnings and $21.11 billion in revenue.
- Enphase Energy — The energy technology company sank more than 12% after first-quarter results missed Wall Street estimates. Enphase reported adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share on revenue of $356 million, while analysts surveyed by LSEG forecast earnings of 70 cents per share and $361 million in revenue. The low end of Enphase's second-quarter revenue outlook also fell short of analysts' estimates.
- Intuitive Surgical — The biotechnology stock lost almost 6%. The company warned that its non-GAAP gross profit margin for 2025 will range from 65% to 66.5% of revenue, down from 69.1% in 2024, reflecting estimated effects from tariffs. The outlook overshadowed beats on the top and bottom lines for the first quarter.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures rise
Stock futures were higher on Tuesday, as investors looked to extend gains for U.S. equities seen earlier in the day.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 1.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 486 points, or 1.2%.
— Brian Evans
