Insights

Weekly Market Commentary – 9th May

12 May 2025

This week the UK and US agreed to meagre measures to head off the most punitive US tariffs. The Trump administration was under pressure to show some results from its extremely aggressive trade tactics, while Keir Starmer’s government was keen to regain some momentum after a poor showing in last week’s elections. With his typical hyperbole, Donald Trump hailed the agreement as a “great” and “comprehensive” deal and US markets welcomed signs that the most punishing tariffs may be avoided. But investors in UK equities appeared to be less enthusiastic as the hastily arranged agreement leaves a lot unresolved.