While a geopolitical drama unfolded in the White House and anxiety about Trump’s tariff threats infiltrated a broader range of economic data, Friday’s trading day finished with a victory for all the primary gauges.
Following a purchase led by Nvidia (NVDA) on Thursday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up around 1.5%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 1.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had a 1.3% increase. After reversing early losses, all three main averages ended positively in February.
Following a barrage of tariff actions, markets ended February with significant weekly and monthly losses. In February, the Nasdaq fell about 5%, while the Dow and S&P 500 had declines of about 2%.
January’s Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE) result helped allay some of Wall Street’s concerns about a slowing economy and rising inflation. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, annual “core” PCE, which excludes food and energy costs, cooled to 2.6% as anticipated.
However, the figures indicated a 0.2% decline in consumer expenditure last month. In contrast to a 0.8% growth in December, it fell short of economists’ predictions of a 0.1% increase.
A heated argument involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Vice President JD Vance, and President Donald Trump occurred on Friday afternoon. While the cameras were rolling, the American commanders referred to Zelensky as “disrespectful” and reprimanded him for not being more appreciative of US assistance in its war against Russia.
China promised to take “all necessary measures” in response, forcing investors already struggling with Trump’s rapid changes to trade policy to deal with new concerns. Following Trump’s announcement that an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods would go into effect on Tuesday, Beijing issued a warning. In addition, he has promised to slap tariffs on the EU and to implement additional charges on Canada and Mexico.
Additionally, the purchase intensified when bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 7% to its lowest level since November. Amidst a broader crypto rout, the cryptocurrency has fallen 25% from its peak.
