Risk Appetite Returns: What It Means for the Market

Inflation is back on the agenda this week. We get to see US CPI data for February on Wednesday and PPI on Thursday. Why is this important? This will be the first full month of data under the administration of President Donald Trump since his re-election.

A big day today—Non-Farm Payrolls are coming at a crucial time with elevated uncertainty, the S&P 500 testing below the 200 MDA, and Powell set to speak this afternoon. Trump is signalling that he is not focused on U.S. equity performance as he maintains his hard stance on tariffs, but many investors believe policies will be reversed if further market pain ensues.

Equities came under pressure again yesterday but managed to recover as Trump announced delays to tariffs in the afternoon. Positive sentiment has continued this morning, particularly for Asian stocks—the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped 3.3%, buoyed by the tariff delays and investors’ expectations of more supportive measures from the Chinese government as the 5% target for expansion remains in place.