Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato drew attention by mentioning that the country’s more than $1.1 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds could potentially be a “card on the table” in negotiations with Washington over Trump’s steep tariffs on autos and other imports.

The recent optimism on Wall Street dissipated early Thursday as companies continued to reassess their financial outlooks due to uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's on-again-off-again tariff policies.

Barely one month has passed since President Trump blindsided global investors with his aggressive tariff plans. Yet U.S. stocks have already staged a remarkable recovery.