Market Commentary: Tuesday 18th March

European stocks are trending higher, moving inversely to U.S. stocks, as investors shift toward non-U.S. assets amid Trump-related uncertainties. Asian benchmarks saw similar increases overnight, with the Hang Seng up 2% and the Nikkei up 1%. Indonesian stocks tumbled by the most in a decade, triggering a 30-minute suspension, while the IDR fell 60 basis points against the USD. The market does not expect Bank of Indonesia to cut rates on Wednesday following today's currency and equity moves.

Gold has broken through $3,000 to fresh all-time highs, currently sitting around $3,018 per ounce, continuing to serve as a safe haven amid ongoing geo-economic concerns.

A busy week of rate decisions lies ahead, with the FOMC and BOJ announcing their decisions on Wednesday, followed by the BOE on Thursday. Both the FOMC and BOJ are expected to leave rates unchanged.

Currencies remained relatively stable overnight but saw an overall USD rally.

Oil gained for a third consecutive day on escalating Middle East tensions.

Cryptos slipped slightly:

• Bitcoin down 1.4% to $82,744.17
• Ether down 1.9% to $1,898.23

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