Equity concerns have settled slightly, with the US government avoiding a shutdown and funding legislation signed off, running into mid-March. Subdued inflation data has also fuelled hopes that Wednesday's Fed decision may have been overly cautious. This leaves the S&P 500 up 0.5% and the Nasdaq up 0.7%. Bitcoin continues its retracement to $94,776 (-0.4%), and Ether has fallen to $3,266 (-0.4%). Uncertainty remains around the Fed's direction, with the prospect of Trump’s global tariffs and their subsequent impact on inflation still posing a headwind.
Data this week is light, with US jobless claims as usual on Thursday. On Friday, we have CPI, retail sales, and unemployment data out of Japan. This morning, UK GDP came in slightly below expectations, showing no quarterly growth (0.1% expected).
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