A volatile trading day ended with a win for all the major gauges Friday, while a geopolitical drama played out in the White House and unease over Trump’s tariff threats permeated through a wider set of economic data.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 1.6%%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up about 1.5% after suffering a Nvidia-led (NVDA) sell-off on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed 1.3%. All three major averages reversed earlier losses, sending February off with a relief rally.
Markets wrapped the month of February with sharp weekly and monthly losses after suffering a buffets of tariff moves. The Nasdaq shed close to 5% in February, while the S&P 500 and Dow suffered drops of around 2%.
SNP – Delayed Quote•USD
At close: February 28 at 5:05:21 PM EST
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The January reading of Personal Consumption Expenditures index (PCE) did its part to soothe some anxiety on Wall Street about a slowdown in the economy and an uptick in inflation. Annual “core” PCE — which strips out food and energy prices and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — cooled to 2.6%, matching expectations.
But consumer spending fell 0.2% last month, the data showed. That undershot economist forecasts of a 0.1% rise and compared with a gain of 0.8% in December.
Friday afternoon also set the stage for a heated exchange between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At a meeting in the Oval Office, while the cameras were rolling, the American leaders called Zelensky “disrespectful” and chastised him for not being thankful enough for US support in its armed conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile, investors reeling from Trump’s fast-paced trade policy overhaul had to grapple with fresh tensions after China vowed to respond with “all necessary measures.” Beijing’s threat came after Trump said an extra 10% tariff on Chinese imports would take hold on Tuesday. He has also pledged to follow through on new duties on Mexico and Canada, and to impose tariffs on the EU.
Also, the sell-off in bitcoin (BTC-USD) deepened as the token sank 7% to its lowest level since November. The cryptocurrency has dropped 25% from its record high amid a broader crypto rout.
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Stocks cap a losing month with a rally
A geopolitical drama playing out in the White House coincided with a volatile trading day Friday, capping a losing month for Wall Street and leaving investors with unease over Trump’s tariff threats, set to be implemented next week.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 1.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up about 1.5% after suffering a Nvidia-led (NVDA) sell-off on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed 1.3%. All three major averages reversed earlier losses, sending February off with a relief rally.
Markets wrapped the month February with sharp weekly and monthly losses after suffering the buffets of tariff moves. The Nasdaq shed close to 5% in February, while the S&P 500 and Dow suffered drops of around 2%.
Meanwhile, an economic deal between the US and Ukraine was left in limbo after a heated shouting match between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office left the negotiations unresolved.
Bitcoin rebounds but suffers worst month since 2022
The drop puts bitcoin down nearly 20% over the past month — its worst monthly performance since June 2022, Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton reports.
Bitcoin has now fallen by around 17% in February. The asset has shed a stunning 23% since hitting a record high of more than $109,000 on the day after Trump’s inauguration.
Nic Puckrin, financial analyst and founder of the Coin Bureau, said in an email to Yahoo Finance earlier this week that the “sharp sell-off in crypto on renewed tariff fears shows that Bitcoin, and even altcoins, are now entirely driven by politics.”
The ‘Magnificent 7’ group were on track to snap a 6-day streak of declines on Friday, but those gains were not enough to avoid steep losses for the week following a Tech sell-off on Wall Street.
Nvidia (NVDA) stock rebounded more than 1% in afternoon trading. However shares were on pace to close down more than 9% for the past five days after the AI chip giant’s quarterly results failed to wow investors.