Market sentiment shifts as US-China trade de-escalation hopes emerge, fueling stock rallies in the US and Asia. Gold experiences a sharp reversal, and the US dollar weakens. The IMF lowers global growth forecasts.
Safe haven demand took a backseat as global stocks rallied on “US-China de-escalation” hopes
Risk appetite returned in the overnight US session yesterday, 22 April, sparked by US Treasury Secretary Bessent's remarks that he sees a de-escalatory path forward regarding the U.S. trade standoff with China in a closed-door investor summit.
All the major US stock indices erased Monday’s losses with the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Russell 2000 gaining more than 2% yesterday, but remained below their respective 20-day moving averages.
Also see our chart of the week here Potential bullish acceleration in EUR/USD
In today’s Asian opening session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 E-mini futures extended their intraday gains to 1.6% and 1.8% respectively at this time of writing, reinforced by the news report stating that US President Trump backed down from his earlier threat to remove Fed Chair Powell from office.
Major Asian benchmark stock indices were jolted up by such “US-China de-escalation” optimism. Japan’s Nikkei 225 staged a rally of 2%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
