London, United Kingdom — Stock markets mostly rose on Monday as worries about fresh US tariffs penciled in for next week were tempered by hopes that US President Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach.
Investor sentiment has been jolted in recent weeks by fears that the president’s hardball policies could deal a painful blow to the global economy.
Wednesday of next week is now the focus of attention, with Trump labeling it “Liberation Day” as he prepares to unveil a raft of supposedly “reciprocal” measures to counter those in other countries.
US stocks opened positively with the Nasdaq trading higher by more than 1.5 percent, the S&P up by 1.3 percent and the DOW gaining 1.0 percent.
“US stock index futures were firmer this morning, indicating a return of investor risk appetite,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation financial services provider.
“The positive start was helped by a more conciliatory tone from President Trump concerning existing tariffs, and those threatened in the future,” he added.
Bloomberg News reported that the US administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others, and the measures not being as severe as initially feared.
That came after the president on Friday told reporters that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.
Those expectations helped European markets open buoyantly on Monday but that sentiment had dissipated by the afternoon with London, Paris and Frankfurt all hovering close to Friday’s prices.
Markets also digested purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data that showed business activity in the eurozone increased for the third consecutive month in March.
The closely watched survey also showed that UK business activity hit a six-month high, a glimmer of good news for Britain’s struggling economy.
However, positive sentiment has been tempered as the US Federal Reserve last week warned of “uncertainty around the economic outlook.”
Asian markets fluctuated through the day, with Tokyo falling while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose.
Chinese electric carmaker BYD’s shares rebounded by three percent with news that the company made more than $100 billion in 2024.
Its price had dropped more than eight percent on Friday following a report that the European Commission was conducting a foreign subsidy investigation into its plant in Hungary.
Jakarta dived more than four percent at one point, extending a recent sell-off fueled by worries about Southeast Asia’s biggest economy that has seen the country’s main index lose around 15 percent since the turn of the year.
Gold held at around $3,030 an ounce (28.3 grammes), having hit a series of records last week to a peak of more than $3,057 owing to a surge in demand for safe havens.
Prices may start heading back the other way, though, according to Fawad Razaqzada, market analysts at StoneX financial services.
“Moving forward, the gold forecast may not be as strong as the first months of the year,” he said. “We think that the pace of the buying could at least slow, if not reverse.”
