Live updates: Stocks rally after Trump floats China tariff cut; Rubio skips Ukraine talks

The stock market rallied early Wednesday after President Trump teased a cut to the 145 percent tariffs on China. 

The market opened positively with the Dow Jones Industrial up with a gain of more than 700 points, rising about 2 percent while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also made sturdy gains. 

“145 percent is very high. It won’t be that high, it’s not going to be that high … it won’t be anywhere near that high,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday evening. “It will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.”

On Tuesday, the president also said he had no plans to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who he has long criticized for not cutting interest rates, which eased investor anxieties. 

Meanwhile, Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, skipped talks in London to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. The meeting was then downgraded, Reuters reported.

Vice President Vance on Wednesday also issued an ultimatum of sorts about the three-year long war. 

"We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters during his trip to India.

This all comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has found himself at the center of another Signal chat controversy. Hegseth is expected to give remarks to students at the U.S. Army War College Wednesday morning.

Follow along for the latest updates below.