Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says individual investors trust President Trump

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that idiosyncratic investors, who person mostly been holding their positions done the caller marketplace turmoil, person religion successful President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

"Individual investors person held tight, portion organization investors person panicked ... idiosyncratic investors spot President Trump," Bessent said during a property briefing alongside White House property caput Karoline Leavitt.

"Vanguard, 1 of the largest wealth absorption firms successful America, said that implicit the past 100 days, 97% of Americans haven't done a trade," Bessent, a erstwhile hedge money CEO, said, citing a Washington Post communicative with the data.

Trump's rollout and consequent suspension of the highest tariffs connected imports successful generations, fueled the worst sell-off successful stocks since the onset of the pandemic successful 2020. The S&P 500 briefly tumbled into a carnivore marketplace earlier recouping immoderate of the losses, and the equity benchmark is present astir 10% disconnected its February all-time high.

During the extent of the April rout, retail investors swooped successful to drawback up stocks astatine depressed values. At the aforesaid time, hedge funds and nonrecreational traders ran for the exit portion piling connected bearish wagers against the market.

Institutions person grown progressively disquieted that steep tariffs volition measurement heavy connected consumers and dilatory down the economy, perchance tipping it into a recession.

Torsten Slok, main economist astatine Apollo, now sees a summertime recession hitting the U.S. arsenic consumers commencement to spot trade-related shortages successful stores adjacent month. Ken Griffin, laminitis and CEO of Citadel, said Trump's planetary commercialized combat risks spoiling the "brand" of the United States and tarnishing the allure of U.S. Treasury debt.