Stocks rebound after Trump’s mixed messages on COVID relief

Stock markets opened up on Wednesday after President Trump signaled an openness to passing specific COVID-19 relief measures, one day after his initial call to cut off talks sent markets tumbling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 300 points, or 1.1 percent, and the S&P 500 was up 33 points, or 1 percent.

Trump’s decision to call off ongoing negotiations with Democrats over a fifth emergency relief package upended markets on Tuesday.

In a tweet, Trump said that a deal would have to wait until after the election, forestalling at least $1.5 trillion of fiscal stimulus, small business aid, unemployment benefits and relief to airlines.

Republicans have objected to the scale of the $2.2 trillion Democratic proposal.

Hours later, Trump appeared to walk back the position in part, suggesting he agreed with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s assessment that a larger relief package was preferable to a smaller one and calling on Congress to approve stimulus checks and airline aid.