U.S. stocks were surging into the green on Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump backed off his threat to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — at least for now.

After days of escalating attacks, including calling Powell a “major loser” and saying his “termination cannot come fast enough,” Trump reversed course late Tuesday, telling reporters he has “no intention” of ousting the Fed chief. The remarks came after days of dramatic market moves made clear that the price of firing Powell — or even threatening to — is measured in trillions.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 699 points, or 1.8%, while Nasdaq futures led with a 2.7% gain. S&P 500 futures jumped 2.3%. The VIX fell more than 8%, and gold — the market’s favorite panic magnet — slumped about 2.2% to $3,345.

Eyes on Bessent, Beige Book, and big earnings

Investors will be closely watching Treasury Secretary Bessent’s scheduled speech Wednesday for further insights into the administration’s trade policies and their potential impact. They’ll also be sifting through Tesla’s (TSLA)results and earnings from a packed slate of companies including Boeing (BA) and AT&T (T).

Flash PMI data — early readings on the health of both the services and manufacturing sectors — land Wednesday morning, followed by the Fed’s Beige Book in the afternoon. Less about hard numbers and more about business vibes, the Beige Book distills anecdotal feedback on wages, hiring, and consumer demand. It’s a mood board for monetary policy.

After the close, IBM (IBM) rounds out the day with earnings that will shed light on its enterprise services and cloud business.

Musks says he’ll step back from DOGE, Tesla rallies

Tesla missed Q1 earnings estimates — revenue fell 9% to $19.3 billion, net income dropped 71% — but shares were up 7% in premarket trading Wednesday. Why?

Because Elon Musk pledged to scale back his role in the Department of Government Efficiency, where he has led efforts to lay off tens of thousands of federal workers, and refocus on his EV company.

Boeing faces fresh turbulence

Boeing is set to report earnings before the bell, amid renewed scrutiny of its production pace and aircraft deliveries. A new geopolitical twist adds pressure: China has reportedly instructed its airlines to halt deliveries of Boeing jets and American aircraft parts, escalating trade tensions. This move, in response to U.S. tariffs, threatens Boeing’s long-term order book, particularly in the Chinese market.

Still, shares jumped 5% premarket.

Philip Morris smokes estimates

Philip Morris International (PM) reported first-quarter results that exceeded expectations, with adjusted diluted earnings per share growing 12.7% to $1.69. Smoke-free products now account for a significant and rapidly increasing portion of revenue and profits — over 40% of both the top and bottom line.

Shares gained nearly 5% heading into the open.

Markets climb on trade optimism

Wednesday’s jump into the green followedTuesday’s broad and sharp rally. The Dow surged 1,017 points on Tuesday, or 2.7%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.5% and the Nasdaq climbed 2.7%. It was a dramatic rebound from last week’s selloff. The spark: Bessent’s reported comments that the U.S.-China tariff standoff is “unsustainable” and likely headed toward de-escalation.

That was all markets needed to hear — for now.

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