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Stock Markets Decline Over US Inflation, Tariff Fears

Published

5 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

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

11 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

11 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

11 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP