Market Commentary: Wednesday 5th March

Equities continued their jitters yesterday on the US open, but there was some light at the end of the tunnel, with Lutnick hinting that some tariffs may be walked back—signalling hopes that Trump’s aggressive narrative is more of a negotiation tactic for a quicker resolution rather than an escalating tariff retaliation. As a result, the S&P 500 dropped only 1.2% before closing higher yesterday and is trading up 0.7% in futures.

The euro has been outperforming, and Bunds are selling off as Germany abandons its stricter fiscal rules on defense spending, putting pressure on the rest of the European bloc ahead of Thursday’s meeting.

Bitcoin ($87,500) has shaken off its negative trend from the start of the week but still sits well below its highs.

Later today, US ADP employment data is in focus, while attention turns to the ECB tomorrow, followed by a flurry of US data releases and speeches on Friday.