US equity indexes surged after President Donald Trump raised trade tariffs on China to 125% and instituted a 90-day pause on reciprocal import duties levied on non-retaliating countries.

The Nasdaq ripped 10.4% to 16,859.1, with the S&P 500 up 8.2% to 5,392 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 7.1% higher at 40,303.2. The three indexes traded between gains and losses earlier in the day.

The technology sector soared more than 10%, consumer discretionary was up 7.7%, and communications services traded 6.4% higher intraday.

"I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately," Trump posted on Truth Social, and also said he "authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately."

The president's move followed China's decision to raise its import duties on US goods to 84% from 34%, effective April 10. China retaliated after the 104% US import levies on the world's second-largest economy came into force overnight. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that it is "unfortunate" that China isn't trying to discuss and negotiate tariffs with Washington.

Meanwhile, the European Commission said duties would start being collected on the first tranche of tariffs on US imports from April 15, with a second set of measures following on May 15, CNBC reported. The European Union has not released a final list of impacted products and declined to comment further on Wednesday.

Separately, Bloomberg reported that the US government is considering a farmer bailout to counter the impact of trade tariffs. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Bloomberg that the administration is exploring using the Commodity Credit Corporation to support farmers.

The CBOE Volatility Index sank 29% to 37.19 following Trump's salvo. It hit a high of 57.96 earlier in the session.

The 10-year yield surged 11.6 basis points to 4.38% after hitting an intraday high of 4.51%. The two-year soared 22.6 basis points to 3.96%

The US Dollar appreciated 0.6% to 147.18 against the Japanese yen after depreciating 0.9% earlier in the session.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 4.5% to $62.26 a barrel after sinking 4% intraday to the lowest since January 2021.

In company news, Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings on Wednesday while opting against reaffirming its full-year outlook because of the uncertain macroeconomic environment. The carrier's shares jumped 23.8% intraday, the top performer on the S&P 500.

CNBC reported that Walmart (WMT) pulled its outlook for operating income in Q1 because of tariff uncertainties. The company, however, said it expects Q1 sales growth to continue to match its 3% to 4% outlook. Stifel adjusted the retailer's price target to $91 from $93 while keeping the stock's hold rating. Shares were among the top gainers on the Dow, up 10.3% intraday.

In economic news, wholesale inventories were unrevised in February from a 0.3% increase in the advance reading and followed a 0.8% increase in January. Analysts in a survey compiled by Bloomberg expected February inventories to be revised up to a 0.4% gain.