• The global markets are dealing with unprecedented uncertainty today, marked by erratic US trade policy and chaotic economic forecasting, making long-term investment very difficult.

• Apple is offering trade-in discounts in China, an indication of competitive pressure. Investors are particularly cautious due to lingering worries over the US-China tariff truce, budget deficits, and currency fluctuation.

• This volatility was witnessed with a recent selloff in government securities, leaving investors without stable consensus expectations.

• At the same time, a prolonged Bloomberg terminal outage caused havoc among traders who could not access important data and place trades.

• The oil market is also running into headwinds, with prices poised for their first weekly decline in three, as OPEC+ considers increasing production amid concerns over an already oversupplied market and diminishing demand due to trade wars.

• Finally, US stock futures were flat as Wall Street concluded a week that was dominated by growing doubts about the economy’s health, stoked by a recent downgrade in the US credit rating and investor concern that optimism about easing trade tensions might be premature amid tariffs’ still high levels.