📆 Wednesday, April 23
► European markets rallied sharply on Wednesday, buoyed by easing (geo)political concerns and relief over U.S. trade and monetary policy signals. The Stoxx 600 is up nearly 1.7%, with Germany’s DAX leading the region higher, up over 2.7% (!). France’s CAC 40 also climbed around 2.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 added over 1.3% with the UK economy being less export oriented. Markets were lifted after President Trump said he had no plans to remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell and signaled a softer stance toward China on tariffs. Eurozone flash PMIs were mixed: composite PMI dipped to 50.10, services weakened, while manufacturing ticked up slightly. In corporate news, SAP surged after reporting a 60% year-on-year rise in Q1 profit. UK April flash PMIs were disappointing, with the composite index falling to a 29-month low of 48.2, signaling contraction.
► U.S. stock futures extended gains following Tuesday’s strong rebound, powered by renewed confidence in Fed stability and trade de-escalation hopes. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures gained over 2%. President Trump's comments clarifying (rather doing a 180° turn) that he will not fire Powell helped allay investor fears, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US-China trade conflict is “unsustainable”. Trump also confirmed tariffs on Chinese goods would fall “substantially” if a deal is reached (which is obvious – that's what deals are for). On the corporate side, Tesla shares are trading up over 6% despite a disastrous quarter. Tesla postponed guidance to reduce headwinds for Tesla, but the electric car maker received a boost mainly from Musk's statement that he will reduce his involvement in government affairs. Intel gained 3% after reports that the company will cut over 20% of its workforce as part of a major restructuring. Investors are now awaiting results from IBM (today) and Alphabet (Thursday) as well as the new US PMI data.
► Asian markets surged as sentiment improved following a Wall Street bounce and signs of easing tensions in the U.S.-China relationship. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.02% to a three-week high, supported by a rebound in domestic services PMI (52.2) and renewed optimism over U.S. policy. China’s Shanghai Composite remained unchanged, while the Shenzhen Component gained 0.67% as the offshore CNY stabilized around 7.30/USD. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng soared 2.37% to a near 10-week peak, driven by optimism over trade talks. Australia’s ASX 200 rose 1.33%, its highest level in three weeks, with gains driven by robust PMI data and a commodity-led rebound. The IMF cut 2025 GDP forecasts for both China and Japan, but investors focused on the near-term thaw in global tensions.
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