Global markets were plunged into turmoil by the fear of recession. The SP 500 and Nasdaq indexes in the US stock market recorded sharp declines. One of the biggest losses occurred in Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla.

The global markets shook with the fear of recession. Uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs fueled recession fears. S&P 500 futures fell by 2.7% yesterday, marking the biggest daily drop since the beginning of the year, while Nasdaq recorded a 4% decline, the largest since September 2022.

The loss in the S&P 500 index has reached $4 trillion since its peak last month. Asian markets also declined in line with Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei index, after hitting its lowest level since September, recently recorded a 1.35% drop. TRUMP DOES NOT IGNORE POSSIBILITY OF RECESSION President Trump, in an interview the day before, did not overlook the possibility that tariffs on Canada and Mexico could lead the country’s economy to enter a recession or inflation to rise this year. When asked whether a recession is expected this year due to tariffs, Trump said he “hates to predict” in such matters.

Trump said, “There is a transition period right now because what we’re doing is so big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. This is a very important thing. There are always periods that take a little bit of time.” On whether tariffs would fuel inflation, Trump emphasized that they could affect inflation, but also noted that interest rates have fallen. FEAR IN MARKETS GROWS The VIX Index, also known as the Fear Index, rose by over 19%, reaching 27.8. While the US 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.22%, the dollar index rose by 0.10 to 103.9. TESLA SUFFERS A MAJOR BLOW One of the steepest falls in the US stock market occurred in Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla. Tesla shares fell by 15.43% to $222 yesterday. Tesla’s loss in value has surpassed 50% since its peak in December. Nvidia, one of the companies that has most benefited from investors’ interest in artificial intelligence recently, saw its shares fall by 5.1%. INFLATION INCREASE SIGNAL Markets are focused on the US inflation data to be released this week. The results of the Consumer Expectations Survey released by the New York Branch of the US Federal Reserve before the inflation data showed that short-term inflation expectations of consumers in the US rose. The median short-term inflation expectation covering the next 12 months increased from 3% to 3.1% last month. Thus, short-term inflation expectations saw an increase for the first time in four months.