It's Already Been a Wild Day on Wall Street

The key word Monday for the US stock market appears to be volatility, but that might be an understatement. The major indexes began the day with another steep plunge before rebounding into positive territory—then taking another big plunge back into the red before rebounding yet again, reports the Wall Street Journal.

• 'Fake news:' The whipsawing appears to have been caused by an unsubstantiated report that the White House was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs, per the Street. Markets rose in response, but they sank again when the White House told CNBC that any such suggestion is "fake news."

• Gains and losses: The Dow was down more than 1,700 points early in the trading day before going up about 700 points, then retreating. At about 11am Eastern, it was down roughly 100 points. The S&P 500, which entered the day on the brink of a bear market, was flitting back and forth between modest gains and modest losses, while the tech-focused Nasdaq was up about 1%.
• Worried voices: Comments by hedge fund billionaire and Trump ally Bill Ackman continue to gain traction. "The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe," he tweeted, adding that "this is not what we voted for." Trump "has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system. Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down." (Jamie Dimon also voiced concern about the tariffs in his annual letter Monday.)