President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had “no intention of firing” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The message is a stark change from just a day earlier, when Trump called Powell a “major loser” in a Truth Social post and hinted that he would fire him. Trump has recently kept the pressure on Powell to lower interest rates – an action the Fed chair recently said he would not rush or take lightly. Trump nominated Powell as Fed chair in 2017 but has butted heads with him ever since. US stock futures surged in after-hours trading Tuesday.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed off from threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after days of intensifying criticisms of the central bank chief for not cutting interest rates. "I have no intention of firing him," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. "I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates," he added. The de-escalation drew an immediate thumbs up from Wall Street, as equity index futures jumped by nearly 2% on the resumption of trading on Tuesday evening. Stocks, bonds and the U.S. dollar had all slumped on Monday after Trump over the Easter holiday weekend repeatedly attacked Powell for not cutting interest rates further since the president resumed office in January.

President Trump said he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and he signaled that tariffs on China could be lowered, prompting relief from investors who had been spooked by the White House’s aggressive moves in recent weeks. “I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates…but, no, I have no intention to fire him,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. U.S. stock futures and the dollar rallied following Trump’s remarks. Gold futures dropped, pulling back from record highs. Trump’s softer tone on Powell came after he lashed out at the Fed chair, writing on social media last week, “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”