This report is from today’s TNC’s Daily Open, our international markets update. TNC Daily Open keeps investors informed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are.
According to a University of Michigan survey, U.S. consumers are more pessimistic about the economy than they have been since November 2022. At that time, annual inflation was 7.1%, and Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, admitted that there was less prospect of a “soft landing,” in which inflation is controlled without the economy entering a recession.
It appeared that the Fed would safely guide the economy down the landing strip, as evidenced by the 2.9% U.S. inflation rate in December and the 2.3% annualized growth in the gross domestic product during the fourth quarter of last year.
However, in 2025, turbulence is upsetting the airliner through tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. According to the same survey, consumers now anticipate one-year inflation to reach 4.9%. To make matters worse, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday that there are “no guarantees” that a recession won’t occur.
Friday’s stock rebound was likely due more to investor relief over the absence of tariff news than to market optimism. Like on Main Street, Wall Street’s sentiment is decidedly downbeat.
What To Note Today
Does A Dead Cat Bounce?
On Friday, U.S. markets recovered. The Nasdaq Composite surged 2.61%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.65%, and the S&P 500 soared 2.13%. The S&P lost $5.28 trillion in around three weeks, while the other indexes saw weekly losses. Monday saw a rise in Asia-Pacific markets. Even though long-term government bond yields hit all-time highs ahead of the Bank of Japan’s meeting later this week, Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased by almost 1.2%.
The Economy Is Gloomy
In mid-March, the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers reported a consumer sentiment index reading 57.9, 10.5% lower than February’s reading and below the Dow Jones consensus expectation of 63.2. At 4.9%, the one-year inflation projection reached its highest since November 2022. According to Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, “a lot of consumers mentioned the high level of uncertainty around policy.”
“No Assurance” That A Recession Won’t Occur
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday that the Trump administration is “resetting” the government’s accounts to avoid a financial disaster. However, Bessent also noted that there are “no guarantees” that the administration’s policies won’t cause a downturn in the economy. Bessent stated that he is “not worried about the markets” and that the stock market correction is “normal.”
China’s rising consumption
According to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese retail sales increased by an anticipated 4.0% during January–February compared to last year. Industrial production increased 5.9% in the first two months of 2025, exceeding forecasts. In an attempt to stimulate domestic demand and revive the stock market, China unveiled a “Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption” on Sunday.
Klarna applies for an IPO
Klarna, a Swedish company that offers buy-now, pay-later loans, submitted its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus on Friday. The company intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker KLAR. Klarna has not revealed the anticipated price range and the quantity of shares offered.
European stock exchanges have had difficulty retaining domestic tech firms and have suffered a serious setback with the U.S. choice to go public.
U.S. economic data
As retail company CEOs warn, the U.S. retail sales data for February, which will be released on Monday, will clarify whether declining consumer mood has resulted in declining sales. Market observers will pay particular attention to what Chair Jerome Powell has to say about the economy’s status, even though they do not anticipate a rate cut at the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, which ends on Wednesday.
Other Reports
The United States and China are competing to develop the first grid-scale nuclear fusion energy. China is catching up by spending twice as much and constructing buildings at historic speeds after the United States dominated the rankings for decades.
With no greenhouse gas emissions or long-term radioactive waste, nuclear fusion produces four times as much energy per kilogramme of fuel as conventional nuclear fission and four million times more than burning coal. It is frequently called the “holy grail” of clean energy.
There is only one major issue – Dennis Whyte, a professor of nuclear physics and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stated that stars are now the only operational fusion power plants in the cosmos.
