Investors seem comfortable with tariffs for now, but 'we're going to see volatility,' says chief investment strategist

The first half of the year was a wild ride for investors.

After cruising along for the first few months, the market skidded off the road after an April announcement from President Donald Trump of sweeping new tariffs. Fears that the levies would reignite inflation and spark a trade war with the potential to tank the global economy drove investors to sell to the tune of a 19% peak-to-trough decline in the S&P 500.

Trump soon announced a months-long pause on many of the tariffs, and countries have since negotiated down duties on their imports to the U.S.

″[Trump] burned his hand on the stove in April,” says Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial. “But he got his finger in ice water real quick and recovered from it.”

The market bounced back from the tariff shock, and then some: the S&P 500 is up more than 8% year-to-date and continues to make new highs.