How fast sentiment can shift when price action so depends on politics. Where once Trump was maniacally focused on markets as a report card on his policies, the devotion has been replaced by a fixation on tariffs. It has smacked of betrayal to investors caught on the wrong side.

“He’s gambling that the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand some of the aggressive trade policies that he’s following through with,” Evan Brown, head of multi-asset strategy at UBS Asset Management, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “He likes to push things to the edge.”…

“The whole point of easing regulation was to limit the red tape and limit your uncertainty in doing business,’’ said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group. “The tariffs, and even just Trump’s tweeting alone, has re-created another form of uncertainty that limits and clouds your ability to do business. If you’re not confident on the outlook then it doesn’t matter what the tax incentives are, you are not going to increase capital spending.’’