Market Manipulation? Trump Urges Investors to Buy U.S. Stocks: Now Is a Good Time to Enter!

Faced with the recent crash-like decline in US stocks, US President Trump finally couldn't sit still. At the start of trading on Wednesday, he bluntly advised investors to buy US stocks. Those who heeded his advice indeed reaped substantial rewards that day, as just a few hours after his "buy" call, he temporarily suspended some "reciprocal tariffs," triggering a strong market rebound. "Calm down! Everything will be fine," Trump posted on his self-created social media platform, Truth Social, just minutes after the US stock market opened on Wednesday morning. "The US will be stronger and more powerful than ever before!" he added later: "Now is a great time to buy!!! DJT." "DJT" is both the initials of Trump's name and the stock ticker for Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, in which Trump holds a majority stake. During the trading session, Trump announced that he had authorized a 90-day tariff suspension for countries or regions that do not take retaliatory actions. This news sparked a strong rebound in US stocks. Theoretically, investors who immediately entered the market at Trump's urging received substantial returns. After Trump announced the suspension of some tariffs, US stocks experienced a historic reversal in afternoon trading. Taking the SPDR S&P 500 ETF as an example, the ETF tracking the S&P 500 was trading at $494.11 at the moment Trump called for a "buy," and it rose to a high of $548.62 during the day, a gain of 11%. The ETF closed up 10.5% for the day, marking its largest single-day gain since 2008. Meanwhile, Trump Media & Technology Group's stock was trading at $16.69 at the moment Trump called for a "buy," and it rose to a high of $20.40 during the day, a gain of about 22.2%. The stock closed up more than 21% for the day, marking its largest single-day gain this year. Tesla—another stock deeply entangled with the Trump administration—also rebounded strongly that day. Due to Tesla CEO Musk's leadership in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut federal spending, the automaker had recently faced strong resistance, with its stock price falling continuously. At the moment Trump called for a "buy," Tesla's stock was trading at $226.27, and it rose to a high of $274.69 during the day, a gain of 21.4%. The stock closed up more than 22% for the day, marking its highest single-day gain since 2013. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 index closed up 9.52% at 5,456.90 points, marking its largest gain since October 29, 2008, and the third-largest single-day gain since World War II. However, the index was still 3% lower than a week ago, before Trump announced "reciprocal tariffs." Trump's direct call to "buy" US stocks sparked controversy. On US retail investor forums, some investors questioned his actions, believing it was equivalent to market manipulation. "Can you imagine insider trading?" one Reddit user wrote. "If you're in the White House and come out without being a billionaire, you're the dumbest person on the planet."