Overview
- The Swiss franc led gains with its biggest daily rise against the dollar in a month, while the euro and pound bounced from overnight lows and New Zealand’s dollar outperformed.
- Bitcoin fell about 2.5% and ether dropped roughly 3.5%, reflecting broader risk aversion in digital assets.
- Traders increased pricing for Federal Reserve rate cuts to roughly 48 basis points by year‑end following the tariff threat and recent U.S. labor data.
- The yen steadied after Japanese officials’ verbal intervention and a Bloomberg report of heightened BoJ focus on yen weakness, with markets briefly assigning about a 22% chance of a March hike.
- European leaders worked to head off the tariffs and prepared retaliatory measures as investors turned to upcoming data and central‑bank decisions for direction.