Stock markets rise on fresh hopes for Trump’s tariff approach

LONDON: Stock markets mostly rose on Monday as worries about fresh US tariffs pencilled in for next week were tempered by hopes that US President Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach.

Investor sentiment has been jolted in recent weeks by fears that the president’s hardball policies could deal a painful blow to the global economy. Wednesday of next week is now the focus of attention, with Trump labelling it ‘Liberation Day’ as he prepares to unveil a raft of supposedly “reciprocal” measures to counter those in other countries.

“Expectations are growing that they (tariffs) could be tweaked and be more focused on specific goods and sectors, instead of swathes of duties triggered in a blanket fashion,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Bloomberg News reported that the US administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others, and the measures not being as severe as initially feared. That came after the president on Friday told reporters that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.