Global Markets React to Tariff Uncertainty and Fed Expectations

According to BlockBeats, global markets experienced significant volatility amid uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies and expectations of Federal Reserve easing. Following a roller-coaster week, U.S. stocks rebounded strongly, with the three major indices achieving their best weekly performance in over a year. The S&P 500 rose by 5.7%, marking its best week since November 2023, while the Dow Jones increased by 4.95% and the Nasdaq by 7.29%. The tech sector's leading index surged by 8.95%, with Nvidia standing out with a weekly gain of 17.62%. In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin initially plummeted to near $74,000 due to safe-haven demand triggered by the tariff conflict. However, market sentiment improved as Trump temporarily delayed reciprocal tariffs and announced an exemption list, leading Bitcoin to rebound and surpass $86,000. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was priced at $84,408, reflecting a weekly increase of nearly 7%. Other altcoins also saw significant rebounds, although Ethereum's overall performance remained weak. In the foreign exchange and commodities markets, Trump's aggressive tariff measures weakened the dollar's safe-haven status, causing the dollar index to fall below the 100 mark to its lowest level since 2022, with a weekly decline of 2.9%, the largest in nearly two years. Oil prices fell for the second consecutive week due to demand concerns, while heightened safe-haven demand pushed gold prices to new highs, with spot gold rising by 6.48% over the week. Despite last week's market rebound amid tariff policy easing, Trump's latest statements denying tariff 'exemptions' indicate that policy uncertainty remains a major risk. U.S. inflation data, including CPI and PPI, came in below expectations, and the Federal Reserve's March meeting minutes suggest that inflation may be more persistent. This week, attention will be focused on Trump's tariff developments and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech.