US President Donald Trump was the first buyer of the dip that came due to the "Liberation Day" tariffs he announced in April last year, which nearly sent Wall Street indices into a bear market territory.
Data analysed by CNBC from his 927-page financial disclosures show that Trump made 327 stock purchases on April 8, 2025. His buying came just a day before he announced a 90-day pause on the tariff announcements he made just a week prior.
Disclosures reveal that Trump purchased shares of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Nvidia, all part of the Magnificent Seven group of shares, which were hit hard after his tariff announcements. The purchases were between $1,00,001 and $2,50,000.
On April 8, the S&P 500 had just closed within touching distance of bear market territory, meaning a 20% drop from its peak. The index had dropped 12% in just four sessions between April 2 to April 8.
The next morning, when futures were continuing to sell-off, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that this is a "GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!". Within a few hours, he announced the tariff pause.
Trump's announcement not only sparked a sharp reversal in the futures market, but also led to the S&P 500 rebounding 9.5% in regular trading, marking one of its best trading days on record. Since that day, the index has risen close to 50%.
Having dropped over 5% on April 8, 2025, shares of iPhone-maker Apple reversed more than 15% after Trump's pause, leading to its best single-day move since 1998. Nvidia also gained 19% on that day, gaining nearly one-fifth of its value in a single trading session.
Trump's 327 stock purchases on April 8 were not his biggest trading activity day. In fact, it was the 11th, and more than five times the daily average of 62 for the calendar year, the CNBC analysis showed. March 5 was Trump's busiest trading activity day, with over 640 trades, followed by 635 on January 30, just days after taking office.
In response to the Conflict Of Interest criticism, Trump told reporters earlier this week that he does not manage his own money and that he has fund houses doing so, whom he does not speak to.
Trump disclosed $2.4 billion in income during calendar year 2025, which included over 21,000 stock trades, and $1.4 billion earned through his crypto ventures.