{"id":59896,"date":"2026-03-18T02:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T06:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T02:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T06:00:22","slug":"bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/","title":{"rendered":"Bones, Billionaires, and Basis Points: Trump\u2019s Tuesday Trade War"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to March 2026, where the &#8220;Art of the Deal&#8221; has apparently been replaced by the &#8220;Art of the Bone-Based Prognostication.&#8221; As the sun rose on March 18, investors found themselves clutching their Bloomberg terminals with the same white-knuckled desperation one might use when riding a roller coaster designed by a man who thinks safety harnesses are a &#8220;globalist plot.&#8221; Between threatening to annex Venezuela as the 51st state and resetting the global trade order via Truth Social, President Donald <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a> has ensured that &#8220;market stability&#8221; remains a phrase found only in history books and fiction novels.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href='\/stock\/SPY'>S&#038;P 500<\/a> (-1.1%) took a predictable tumble in early trading as the administration doubled down on a 10% global tariff, a move that economists call &#8220;inflationary&#8221; and the White House calls &#8220;a vibe.&#8221; Meanwhile, the <a href='\/stock\/DIA'>DOW<\/a> (-0.85%) struggled to find its footing as the President announced that the ongoing conflict with Iran would end whenever he &#8220;feels it in his bones.&#8221; Apparently, the traditional military-industrial complex has been superseded by the President\u2019s skeletal system, a development that left defense contractors like <a href='\/stock\/LMT'>LMT<\/a> (+0.4%) trading in a state of confused, albeit profitable, suspension.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/#The_10_Solution_to_a_Problem_No_One_Had\" >The 10% Solution to a Problem No One Had<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/#The_Strait_of_Hormuz_and_the_%E2%80%9CBone%E2%80%9D_Indicator\" >The Strait of Hormuz and the &#8220;Bone&#8221; Indicator<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/#M_A_Mergers_Acquisitions_and_Annexations\" >M&#038;A: Mergers, Acquisitions, and Annexations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/#The_Fed_the_%E2%80%9CLoser%E2%80%9D_and_the_Truth\" >The Fed, the &#8220;Loser,&#8221; and the Truth<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/#Housing_Home_Ownership_and_Other_Fairy_Tales\" >Housing, Home Ownership, and Other Fairy Tales<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bones-billionaires-and-basis-points-trumps-tuesday-trade-war\/59896\/#Conclusion_The_Bone-Deep_Volatility\" >Conclusion: The Bone-Deep Volatility<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_10_Solution_to_a_Problem_No_One_Had\"><\/span>The 10% Solution to a Problem No One Had<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a move that surprised absolutely no one who has been paying attention for the last decade, <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a> confirmed a 10% global tariff while simultaneously criticizing the Supreme Court for suggesting that the Constitution might have a few footnotes regarding executive overreach. The market reaction was as swift as a Trumpian retweet. Shares of <a href='\/stock\/AAPL'>AAPL<\/a> (-2.3%) and <a href='\/stock\/NVDA'>NVDA<\/a> (-3.1%) slid in <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/pre-market\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Premarket Movers\">pre-market trading<\/a>, as the tech sector realized that &#8220;global tariffs&#8221; usually include the parts they need to make the things they sell. <\/p>\n<p>The logic, as explained in a series of all-caps posts, is that the U.S. has an &#8220;absolute right&#8221; to tax everything that crosses the border, presumably including migratory birds and stray radio waves. For companies like <a href='\/stock\/WMT'>WMT<\/a> (-1.4%), which rely on the quaint notion of affordable global supply chains, the news was about as welcome as a skunk at a garden party. Volume spikes in <a href='\/stock\/COST'>COST<\/a> (-0.9%) suggested that institutional investors are hedging their bets by moving into &#8220;stuff people buy when the world is ending,&#8221; which currently includes bulk-sized jars of mayonnaise and <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold-price.aspx\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">gold<\/a> bars.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Strait_of_Hormuz_and_the_%E2%80%9CBone%E2%80%9D_Indicator\"><\/span>The Strait of Hormuz and the &#8220;Bone&#8221; Indicator<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While the Pentagon likely spends millions on satellite imagery and intelligence gathering, the Commander-in-Chief has streamlined the process. By declaring that the Iran war will conclude based on a physiological sensation in his marrow, Trump has introduced a new technical indicator for Wall Street: the &#8220;Humeral Index.&#8221; Oil prices reacted with their usual frantic twitching. <a href='\/stock\/XOM'>XOM<\/a> (+1.8%) and <a href='\/stock\/CVX'>CVX<\/a> (+1.5%) saw gains as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalated. <\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s latest grievance involves NATO allies &#8220;snubbing&#8221; calls to join the naval effort in the Middle East. In a Truth Social post that read like a Yelp review for a failing brunch spot, the President suggested that if the allies won&#8217;t help, they might find their own trade deals &#8220;reset&#8221; to zero. This geopolitical game of &#8220;chicken&#8221; has left the energy markets in a tailspin. The <a href='\/stock\/USO'>USO<\/a> (+2.2%) jumped as the President suggested that China\u2014which gets 90% of its oil through the Strait\u2014should probably start pitching in, or else the upcoming summit with Xi Jinping might be delayed another &#8220;five or six weeks.&#8221; Or forever. Whichever comes first.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"M_A_Mergers_Acquisitions_and_Annexations\"><\/span>M&#038;A: Mergers, Acquisitions, and Annexations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Perhaps the most &#8220;innovative&#8221; policy proposal of the week involves the President\u2019s sudden interest in real estate expansion\u2014specifically, Venezuela. Following a baseball game, Trump claimed that Venezuela is on the verge of becoming the 51st state. While the residents of Caracas might have some thoughts on this, the market for emerging market ETFs like <a href='\/stock\/VWO'>VWO<\/a> (-1.2%) reacted with a collective &#8220;Wait, what?&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Not to be outdone by his own ambition, Trump also threatened a &#8220;takeover&#8221; of Cuba as the island\u2019s power grid continues to fail. The logic here is apparently that if you can&#8217;t fix a power grid, you lose your sovereignty to a man who once suggested nuking a hurricane. While the logistical nightmare of turning Havana into a MAGA-themed resort district is vast, the mere mention of it caused a brief, inexplicable spike in <a href='\/stock\/TRV'>TRV<\/a> (+0.2%), as insurance companies contemplated the premiums for &#8220;accidental annexation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Fed_the_%E2%80%9CLoser%E2%80%9D_and_the_Truth\"><\/span>The Fed, the &#8220;Loser,&#8221; and the Truth<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As if a global trade war and two potential annexations weren&#8217;t enough to keep the <a href='\/stock\/QQQ'>NASDAQ<\/a> (-1.9%) in the red, the Federal Reserve is meeting this week to discuss interest rates. Jerome Powell, whom Trump recently referred to on Truth Social as a &#8220;loser&#8221; (a title usually reserved for people who don&#8217;t use enough gold leaf in their interior decorating), is facing immense pressure to cut rates despite war-driven price spikes. <\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s own media vehicle, <a href='\/stock\/DJT'>DJT<\/a> (+12.4%), surged on the news that the President believes he has the &#8220;absolute right&#8221; to ignore the Supreme Court and the Fed simultaneously. It\u2019s a bold strategy: if you don&#8217;t like the price of money or the legality of your actions, simply post through it. Retail investors in <a href='\/stock\/DJT'>DJT<\/a> seem to believe that the laws of physics and finance don&#8217;t apply to a company whose primary product is a digital megaphone for a man who wants to trade HIV aid to Zambia for &#8220;mineral access.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Housing_Home_Ownership_and_Other_Fairy_Tales\"><\/span>Housing, Home Ownership, and Other Fairy Tales<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a rare moment of domestic policy focus, Trump announced new Executive Orders intended to increase home ownership. This comes at a time when the average mortgage rate is higher than the President\u2019s approval rating in Manhattan. Homebuilder stocks like <a href='\/stock\/DHI'>DHI<\/a> (+0.5%) and <a href='\/stock\/LEN'>LEN<\/a> (+0.3%) saw a marginal &#8220;Trump Bump,&#8221; though analysts are skeptical that an executive order can magically lower the cost of lumber when you\u2019ve just put a 10% tariff on the world. <\/p>\n<p>The irony of promoting home ownership while simultaneously threatening a global trade war that could send the cost of a 2&#215;4 to the moon was not lost on the market. However, in the current environment, &#8220;irony&#8221; is not a tradable commodity, whereas &#8220;chaos&#8221; is. Investors are currently pricing in a 70% chance of a &#8220;major policy flip-flop&#8221; by Thursday, which is actually down from the 90% chance we saw during the first term.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion_The_Bone-Deep_Volatility\"><\/span>Conclusion: The Bone-Deep Volatility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As we look toward the rest of the week, the market remains at the mercy of the President\u2019s intuition. With Ric Grenell exiting, the Kennedy Center closing, and Markwayne Mullin heading to DHS to replace Kristi Noem, the revolving door of the administration is spinning so fast it could probably be used as an alternative energy source for Cuba. <\/p>\n<p>For the average investor, the takeaway is clear: ignore the data, ignore the charts, and start paying very close attention to the President\u2019s skeletal health. If his bones are feeling &#8220;peaceful,&#8221; buy the dip. If they\u2019re feeling &#8220;tariff-y,&#8221; maybe it\u2019s time to move your 401(k) into canned goods and mineral rights in Zambia. After all, in a world where Venezuela is the 51st state, the only thing that\u2019s truly &#8220;priced in&#8221; is the absurdity.<\/p>\n<p><i><b>DISCLAIMER: <\/b> We read Trump&#8217;s posts so you don&#8217;t have to. This is comedy meets market data, not financial advice. Not political advice either &#8211; we just like charts and chaos.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to March 2026, where the &#8220;Art of the Deal&#8221; has apparently been replaced by the &#8220;Art of the Bone-Based [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":50312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4331],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trump-stock-market"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}