Why is the ASX 200 going gangbusters today?

It’s a sea of green on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today.

You haven’t heard that for a while, have you?

In a welcome reprieve for frazzled investors, the ASX 200 is up a whopping 5.2% in morning trade on Thursday, with the vast majority of stocks joining in the rally.

Taking a look at the biggest three, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are up 3.6% at $154.43, the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is up 6.6% at $36.41, and shares in biotech giant CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) are up 5.1% at $245.53.

Boom!

What’s putting a rocket under ASX 200 shares today?

As you’re likely aware, the ASX 200 and stock markets worldwide have been under heavy pressure in recent weeks amid a raft of global tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump.

This had pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) into official bear market territory, while the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) was within a whisker of joining that unwanted categorisation.

But yesterday, both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 enjoyed their strongest day of gains in more than 20 years.

The S&P 500 closed up 9.5% overnight, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained a blistering 12.2%. Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) soared 22.7%, while shares in AI chip maker Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) leapt 18.7%.

The ASX 200 is following US markets higher today after Trump announced he would pause the big uptick in tariffs he’d placed on scores of nations for 90 days.

Most countries will continue to be hit with the 10% baseline duties that came into effect over the weekend. Of potential concern to Australia, Trump announced that tariffs on China will be increased to an eyewatering 125%.

While uncertainty remains the name of the game for now, investors would have done well to heed Trump’s social media post, released early yesterday morning US time. “This is a great time to buy,” he said.

Indeed.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the world’s richest people grew $304 billion richer on Wednesday, a record one-day haul.

What are the experts saying?

Here’s what these leading market experts had to say about the Trump tariff reprieve sending US stocks and the ASX 200 rocketing (quotes courtesy of Bloomberg).

Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert, noted:

I am not ready to say this is the bottom, but this is a sign that he is ready to make a deal. There has been a lot of damage done already to market structure and investor sentiment, we will need to work that

Cayla Seder at State Street Global Markets added:

Well, first, wow. This is certainly a signal of welcomed reprieve, but I don’t believe this is a buy everything rally, sticking to high quality parts of the market to ride out continued uncertainty is reasonable here.

And Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management said:

It is very difficult to trade this market because the news changes on a dime, so it’s best to have a longer-term investment plan in place and take advantage of quality companies trading at a discount, when the opportunity arises.

With today’s big intraday boost factored in, the ASX 200 is out of official correction territory, currently down 9.3% since its all-time closing high on 14 February.