Global Markets React to Trump's Softer Tariff Stance

The U.S. dollar suffered its worst week in over a year due to President Trump's comments suggesting softer tariffs on China, impacting equity markets globally. While the dollar dropped, global stocks showed mixed results, and oil prices dipped as Trump urged OPEC to lower costs. European optimism increased, with investments potentially shifting back to the region.

The U.S. dollar faced its sharpest decline in over a year following President Donald Trump's hints at easing trade tariffs against China. This added uncertainty to global trade policies, unsettling equity markets, with analysts speculating potential reversals should U.S. policies shift further.

U.S. markets showed mixed responses; while the MSCI world stocks index gained slightly, Wall Street indices largely remained flat. Trump's comments, seen as a negotiation shift, bolstered China's stocks, and the yuan strengthened.

Oil prices continued their decline amid Trump's calls to Saudi Arabia and OPEC to cut prices, aligning with broader policy aims that could indirectly benefit Europe. European stocks experienced initial optimism, leading investment sentiment to potentially improve in the region.

(With inputs from agencies.)