Following days of attention on US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, traders switched their focus to the latest consumer price index (CPI), which could alter the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) thinking on the outlook for interest rates.

“Bar a major surprise in today’s price data, one month’s worth of data is unlikely to sway the Federal Reserve,” noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

“However, CPI is a major market release, and it can have a big impact on financial markets, at least in the short term,” Brooks said.

Fed boss Jerome Powell yesterday reiterated that the US central bank was in no hurry to cut interest rates further.

It comes as analysts warn that Trump’s tariffs – and plans to slash taxes, regulations and immigration – risked reigniting prices.

“The impact could be higher inflation, higher (US) interest rates to combat that inflation, or higher taxes for households,” said Hetal Mehta, head of economic research at St James’s Place.

Wall Street ended yesterday on a mostly positive note, despite tech stocks dragging the Nasdaq into the red.

Hong Kong led gains across most Asian stocks markets today, thanks to another rally by its tech firms.

In Europe, London and Frankfurt hit fresh record highs, with support coming from cuts to interest rates in Britain and the eurozone, as well as thanks to positive company earnings.

Shares in Dutch brewer Heineken fizzed today as traders cheered better-than-expected beer sales.

The stock surged almost 13%, making it the biggest gainer on the Amsterdam market, which was up slightly overall approaching midday.