Chief executives of Walmart, Target and Home Depot reportedly warned Trump that supply chain disruptions were already underway and would lead to empty shelves at U.S. stores in a matter of weeks.

Stocks were holding onto sizable gains Wednesday as many investors cheered the possibility trade talks between the United States might at least start. At the same time, President Trump's announcement he wouldn't try to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cheered the market,

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.