Investors Doubt Trump’s Ability to Jawbone Markets to More Gains

The mild moves this morning show there’s plenty of investor skepticism that Trump will be able to easily end the conflict with Iran.

Even though stocks ended the day higher yesterday, they were unable to hold onto the initial surge that came in the minutes after Trump’s social media post, in which he touted “productive discussions” with Iran. That underscores the limits of his ability to jawbone investors.

“I am worried that it’s not Trump’s decision anymore, not in the same way that tariffs could be called off,” said Brad Conger at Hirtle Callaghan. “The people who are encouraged by Trump’s responsiveness to the market, their faith is misplaced.”

The bullish argument is that Trump sent a clear message that he’s eager to end a war, which will be enough to allay investor fears. Though given the president history of misstatements and exaggerations, there’s little certainty either way.

“We’re left with a market confused whether it’s credible sign of the endgame nearing or another ‘very complete, pretty much’ moment,” said Jordan Rochester, a strategist at Mizuho Bank. —Alexandra Semenova, Isabelle Lee and Matthew Griffin