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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -In a stunning reversal, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries while further ramping up pressure on China, sending U.S. stocks rocketing higher. Trump's turnabout, which came less than 24 hours after steep new tariffs kicked in on most trading partners, followed the most intense episode of financial market volatility since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The upheaval erased trillions of dollars from stock markets and led to an unsettling surge in U.S. government bond yields that appeared to catch Trump's attention.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Stock indexes posted their biggest one-day gains in years, with the S&P 500 recording its largest rise since 2008, while the dollar gained and Treasuries pared losses on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a temporary U.S. pause on tariffs. The announcement by Trump came in the afternoon after days of market turmoil, with bond prices and the U.S. dollar selling off earlier in the day on fears that the administration's plans to raise tariffs to levels last seen more than 100 years ago would push the economy into recession. The president announced an immediate 90-day tariff pause for many countries even as he raised the levy on Chinese imports to 125%.

Across Wall Street, 44 publicly traded companies were upgraded Tuesday to an equivalent rating of "buy" or "neutral."

The U.S. dollar weakened against safe-haven currencies including the yen and the Swiss franc while the euro strengthened on Wednesday as markets grappled with tit-for-tat measures by major countries in response to U.S. tariffs. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries took effect on Wednesday, including massive 104% duties on Chinese goods. EU countries also approved on Wednesday the bloc's first countermeasures against U.S. tariffs.

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Firms that deal with housing products are facing a major EPS hit from the trade war, Bank of America wrote Tuesday.

Bitcoin could challenge gold as a hedge against inflation over the next decade, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.