Cliff Notes
- Global stock markets, including the Dow Jones and Nasdaq, surged by over 2% following comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding potential de-escalation in trade tensions with China, alleviating investor fears.
- President Trump echoed a reduction in tariffs, stating they would come down “substantially” from current high levels, while also reassuring that he has no intention of dismissing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell amid market stability concerns.
- Despite the positive momentum, analysts warn that the recovery from the ongoing trade war is still far off, with significant downgrades to global growth forecasts adding to investor anxieties.
Trade war: Stock markets rally as Trump rows back on Fed and China threats
Global stock markets and the dollar have rallied on hopes of two significant climbdowns by the Trump administration on issues blamed for a slump in values.
Remarks by the US Treasury secretary on punitive tariffs against China lifted the mood on Wall Street initially before the president himself moved to calm market trade war worries and also end speculation he could fire the head of the country’s central bank.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and tech-focused Nasdaq Composite both ended Tuesday trading 2.7% up, erasing losses of the previous day.
Asian markets later followed that lead, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gaining 2.2%.
European indices also saw a strong opening, with the FTSE 100 up by more than 1%. It was led higher by Asia-focused banks HSBC and Standard Chartered.
The US dollar – badly hit by trade war implications in recent weeks – was at least a cent higher than a day earlier against many rival currencies including the pound.
The rally gathered steam when US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told a private JPMorgan event that he expected a “de-escalation” in the spiralling spat with China.
It’s a fight that has seen US tariffs hit 145% and China responding with duties of 125%.