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Stock Markets Decline Over US Inflation, Tariff Fears

Published

7 months ago

March 28, 2025

Editor

Stock markets fell on Friday as a closely-watched US inflation reading heated up, adding to concerns over the fallout from an incoming wave of tariffs by President Donald Trump.

Shares in automakers fell further as they brace for 25-percent levies due to kick in early next week along with a raft of “reciprocal” tariffs tailored to different countries.

The market mood has soured over fears that Trump’s tactics will trigger tit-for-tat tariffs that would rekindle inflation, which could put the brakes on interest rate cuts and spark a recession.

“Investors remain nervous over the economic repercussions from President Trump’s tariff threats, just days before he unleashes his ‘reciprocal tariffs’ (on April 2),” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at financial services provider Trade Nation.

Wall Street opened in the red after official data showed the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, remained unchanged last month at 2.5 percent.

But another key figure, core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose more than expected at 2.8 percent in February on an annual basis, up from 2.6 percent the month before.

A tit-for-tat trade war and a reignition of inflation could force the Fed and other central banks to rethink plans to cut interest rates.

“The (PCE) report isn’t devastating, but given the current economic uncertainty and market volatility, investors were looking for reassurance in this report — not something to fan the flames,” said Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at eToro trading platform.

In Spain, data showed inflation eased to 2.3 percent in March as rainy weather boosted hydro power production and drove down electricity prices. Consumer price rises remained unchanged in France at 0.8 percent.

Paris and Frankfurt stocks dropped, with automakers Volkswagen, Renault, and Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot, and Fiat, faring particularly badly.

General Motors and Ford had more limited losses on Wall Street.

London bucked the trend, with the FTSE 100 index rising as data showed that the UK economy expanded more than initially estimated last year and retail sales rose.

Tokyo’s stock market sank 1.8 percent as the world’s biggest carmaker, Toyota, fell, along with Honda, Nissan, and Mazda.

Seoul was off 1.9 percent as Hyundai gave up 2.6 percent.

Uncertainty over Trump’s plans and long-term intentions has led investors to rush into safe havens such as gold, which hit a new record high of $3,085.96 an ounce on Friday.

Governments around the world have hit out at Trump’s latest tariffs, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney saying the “old relationship” of deep economic, security, and military ties with Washington is over.

Tariff worries also saw Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets fall.

Bangkok was in the red when trading was suspended as the Thai capital was shaken by a powerful earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar.

Investors also kept tabs on Beijing, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping met leading business leaders pledging the country’s door would “open wider and wider”.

He also warned the world trading system was facing “severe challenges”.

– Key figures around 1340 GMT –

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,216,50 points

New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 5,683.38

New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.4 percent at 17,741.10

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,673.30

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,949.83

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 22,593.76

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 37,120.33 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 23,426.60 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent at 3,351.31 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0803 from $1.0796 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2957 from $1.2947

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.62 yen from 151.04 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 83.40 pence from 83.38 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $69.73 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $73.04 per barrel

AFP

Headline

Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Published

12 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

AFP

Headline

20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Published

14 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Headline

South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

Published

14 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP