Trump bought Apple, Nvidia and other tech giants before tariff reversal fueled rebound
By Alex Harring, and Luke Fountain, CNBC
While investors and businesses spent the early days of April 2025 fretting over the future of global trade and the economy, President Donald Trump was busy buying into the stock market sell-off he created.
Trump made 327 stock purchases on April 8, 2025, according to a CNBC analysis of the president’s annual financial disclosure for 2025 that includes trades, income and liabilities and was released on Tuesday. That made April 8 his 11th busiest day for stock buying last year, more than five times the daily average of roughly 62 for the calendar year, according to the CNBC analysis.
Summary
Donald Trump bought large amounts of major technology stocks during the sharp market selloff caused by his own tariff announcements in April 2025 — shortly before reversing part of the policy and helping trigger one of the strongest stock-market rebounds in years.
According to financial disclosures reviewed by CNBC, Trump made 327 stock purchases on April 8, 2025, after markets had plunged for several days following his “Liberation Day” tariff plan. His buying focused heavily on mega-cap tech companies such as Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia, all of which had been hit hard by the tariff fears.
The next morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that it was a “great time to buy” and later announced a partial retreat from the tariffs. Markets immediately surged, with the S&P 500 jumping roughly 9.5% in a single day. Many of the tech stocks Trump bought rebounded dramatically as investors believed the tariff threat had eased.
The article says this episode highlights an unusual situation: a president with enormous power to move markets also having substantial personal financial exposure to those same markets. Critics on social media and investing forums questioned whether the timing resembled market manipulation or created conflicts of interest, while the White House responded that Trump’s assets are managed by outside financial firms and denied any conflict.
The disclosures also showed the enormous scale of Trump’s financial interests during his presidency, including billions in revenue tied to crypto ventures, golf properties, branded merchandise, and other business activities.
