The White House has dismissed reports of a 90-day tariff pause as “fake news,” according to the press secretary.
A fleeting headline referencing Hassitt circulated momentarily, but has since been discredited.
Market Reactions To Rumours
Rumours spread quickly during market turmoil, leading to rapid but unverified reactions.
The situation has resulted in a reversal that may deter some buyers from entering the market.
As a consequence, the S&P 500 has fallen by 1.8% following a rise of over 3%.
That initial clarification from the White House, labelling any talk of a 90-day tariff delay as unfounded, pulled the rug from under early optimism. Some traders had taken those headlines at face value, triggering a wave of short-term buying. What followed was a textbook case of a sentiment-driven rally that couldn’t hold its footing once the source was questioned.
Impact On Trading Strategies
The mention of Hassitt, which flashed up briefly before evaporating, had acted as a trigger for fast-moving speculation. We’ve seen these sorts of headline-driven reactions before—usually when markets are jumpy, and liquidity thins out—so it was unsurprising that the rally reversed so sharply. The pullback, with the S&P 500 retreating 1.8% after posting a strong 3% advance, illustrates how sensitive pricing remains to miscommunication or premature reporting.
Momentum is currently not our friend. Volatility is being churned up by a mix of news-driven intraday trades and a broader lack of conviction. Most aren’t willing to hold positions overnight under such conditions, especially when the news cycle moves faster than confirmation can arrive. The hesitation now forming around direction is tying closely to the lack of follow-through on these policy rumours. In periods like this, implied volatility becomes more sensitive to sudden bursts of news rather than longer-term macro indicators.
We can already see certain positioning pulling back. As the misunderstanding unwinds, short-dated options are being recalibrated. There’s been a rebalancing away from weekly calls that had been built around an expected de-escalation narrative. That view is no longer operational—pricing is starting to re-align accordingly.
Volume levels across futures have also dropped somewhat, suggesting that many are standing back, waiting for clarity. Those trading spreads would do well to apply more discipline than usual: wide price swings and event risk are interfering with mean-reversion behaviour.
With correlations breaking down amid this kind of instability, it’s better to stay shorter on the curve. Engagement further out runs the risk of being caught offside by a stray comment or reversal in sentiment. Patience around entries is harder yet more necessary when timing is shaped as much by rumour as by data.
It’s tempting to react quickly to headlines, but we’re better off slowing down order flow, especially ahead of weekend risk or during thin liquidity windows. It’s during those quieter moments when false information causes the greatest disruption.
