Equity markets continued to recover in May following early April’s “Liberation Day” tariff related declines. Although tariff uncertainty has weighed on sentiment, the decision by the U.S. and China in mid-May to suspend tariffs for 90 days represented an important cooling off of tensions and helped support the market recovery. While intra-month volatility around tariff uncertainty continued, the resetting of tariff demands for both China and Europe proved to be bullish market catalysts. The perception that the most extreme tariff stances embraced by the administration may be more bargaining strategies than policy prescriptions appears to have somewhat eased investor concerns. The idea being that President Trump may not follow through on his more extreme tariff proposals has provided market support against a backdrop of continuing trade policy uncertainty.