Market Commentary: Tuesday 24th February

Asian equities climbed and US equity futures recovered as the AI-driven “scare trade” started to show signs of cooling. Asian chipmakers jumped to records — SK Hynix, Samsung, and TSMC — as traders piled back in. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%.

US President Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff came into effect, and the White House is working on a formal order to increase the global tariff rate to 15%, aiming to preserve the president’s trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his original sweeping duties. Goods compliant with the North American trade pact between the US, Canada, and Mexico will be exempt, along with some agricultural goods that were already excluded under previous levies.

On today’s economic calendar, there is a series of central bank speakers: ECB’s Kocher (10:30 AM) and Lagarde (5:45 PM), along with the Fed’s Goolsbee (1:00 PM) and Bostic, Collins, and Waller (2:00–2:15 PM), and the BoE’s Bailey, Greene, and Taylor at 2:15 PM.

Bitcoin fell 2.2% to $63,174.
Ether fell 2.0% to $1,826.54.
Spot gold fell 1.1% to $5,171.55/oz.

**For professional investors only** Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information contained in this blog is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute (and should not be construed as containing) investment advice or an investment recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Some of this information may have been provided by third-party sources and, although believed to be reliable, it has not been independently verified and its accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. No representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made or given by or on behalf of iSAM Securities or its directors or any other person as to the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions contained in this blog, and no responsibility or liability is accepted for any such information. As a result, any person acting on any information does so entirely at their own risk. iSAM Securities will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information.