With Two Tweets, Trump Shatters Historic Calm in Global Markets | Bloomberg

Tbd if it was mostly an attempt to distract people from Robert Mueller's House Judiciary Committee testimony proposed for 5/15...

"In the end, all it took was two tweets from Donald Trump.

After weeks of warnings from many on Wall Street that price swings across global markets were too subdued, the American president’s threat to boost tariffs on China sent volatility soaring Monday. The VIX Index jumped 43 percent, the most since October -- the start of a horrible quarter for U.S. equities. S&P 500 Index futures slid 1.7 percent and the Shanghai Composite fell 5.6 percent, the most since February 2016. European shares also dropped.

Whether they were a negotiating tactic or a sign of something more ominous, Trump’s tweets jolted markets that had been lulled in recent weeks by signs of progress in trade talks, a dovish turn by the Federal Reserve and better-than-expected corporate earnings. Investors who had grown accustomed to cross-asset volatility at or near historically low levels were once again forced to consider that all might not be smooth sailing."

With Two Tweets, Trump Shatters Historic Calm in Global Markets | Bloomberg