Global financial markets reversed course within minutes after President Donald Trump said "the war is very complete, pretty much," sparking a V-shaped rally in New York stocks and sending oil prices tumbling.
The turnaround on the 9th (local time) drew both praise for market-moving power and allegations of potential market manipulation.
A social media exchange between two American journalists fueled the controversy. Julia Ioffe of Puck News questioned whether Trump had called to deliver "vague but hopeful" comments designed to trigger a market rebound. Weijia Jiang, CBS White House correspondent and White House Correspondents' Association president, pushed back: "I called President Trump, and he simply answered my question about how quickly the war could end."
The controversy stemmed from Jiang's exclusive phone interview with Trump. She posted his remarks on X at 3:16 p.m., just 44 minutes before market close.
At that moment, U.S. markets were experiencing what resembled "Bloody Monday" amid fears of a prolonged Iran conflict. The New York Stock Exchange had plunged from the opening bell, while oil prices threatened to breach $120 per barrel.
The CBS report triggered an immediate reversal. West Texas Intermediate crude, which had spiked to $119.48 per barrel intraday, plummeted to the mid-$80s after the report—a drop of nearly 30% from its daily high.
Equities followed suit. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, down more than 600 points during trading, began climbing immediately after the CBS report. The index closed up 239 points (0.5%) from the previous day, while the Nasdaq gained 1.38%.
Ioffe's suspicions reflect Trump's history of reversing market sentiment through media interviews during crises. In 2018, when U.S.-China trade war fears rattled markets, Trump told CNBC by phone that "China wants to negotiate," turning the Dow and S&P 500 positive.
During the COVID-19 market crash in 2020, his Fox Business interview declaring "our economy is very strong" preceded the next day's rebound.
Last April, amid a global market selloff, Trump posted on social media: "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!" Approximately three hours and 40 minutes later, he announced a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs for most countries except China. The Dow surged 2,962.86 points (7.9%) that day—a historic single-day gain that prompted market manipulation allegations from some political quarters.
Whether Trump's comments to the CBS reporter constituted an intentional signal remains unclear. Wall Street's adage that "a single word from President Trump moves global markets" has once again proven true.