Stocks finished higher Friday despite President Donald Trump's renewed tariff threats and a clash in the Oval Office with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 601.41 points, or 1.39%, to finish the session at 43,840.91, while the S&P 500 gained 1.59% to close at 5,954.50 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.63% to end the day at 18,847.28.
Month to date, the Nasdaq has led the way down, sliding nearly 4% in February due largely to a 3.5% drop this week, according to CNBC, the index’s worst month since April 2024.
The S&P 500 declined roughly 1% for the week and 1.4% in February, according to CNBC, while the Dow rose about 1% in the week. Month to date, however, the 30-stock index has dropped 1.6%.
Markets turned briefly downward after Trump berated Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” and then abruptly called off the signing of a minerals deal with the U.S. that Trump said would have moved Ukraine closer to ending its war with Russia, the Associated Press reported.
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said Trump and Vice President JD Vance are doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dirty work.”
Updated at 12:53 PM EST
Tough talk
President Donald Trump's White House meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy devolved into an extraordinary series of exchanges that suggest a potential collapse in the nascent peace talks to end the war with Russia.
Trump found himself repeatedly talking over Zelenskiy, who was trying to answer questions posed by Vice President JD Vance, and accused the Ukrainian leader of "gambling with World War III," and being "very disrespectful" to the United States.
"It's going to be a tough deal to make, because the attitudes need to change," Trump said following an angry tirade to the assembled media the Oval Office.
Stocks turned lower following a broadcast of the meeting, with the S&P 500 last marked 8 points, or 0.14% lower and the Dow and the Nasdaq turning negative on the session.
Here is the ugly exchange between Trump, Zelenskiy and Vance: https://t.co/s4PqficAXg
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) February 28, 2025
Updated at 11:19 AM EST
GDP wow!
The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow forecaster, a real-time estimate of current-quarter growth, suggests the world's biggest economy stumbled hard this month as sentiment indicators slump and consumer spending contracted.
The tracker pegs first quarter GDP as having fallen by 1.5%, a massive reduction from its prior estimate of a 2.3% advance.
On February 28, the #GDPNow model nowcast of real GDP growth in Q1 2025 is -1.5%: https://t.co/T7FoDdgYos. #ATLFedResearch
— Atlanta Fed (@AtlantaFed) February 28, 2025
Download our EconomyNow app or go to our website for the latest GDPNow nowcast: https://t.co/NOSwMl7Jms. pic.twitter.com/HhndH6BirX
Updated at 11:05 AM EST
Moving parts
Stocks are moving in and out of positive territory heading into the late morning session, with the benchmark VIX volatility gauge holding north of the $20 mark, as investors look to close out a difficult month with some modest index gains.
The S&P 500 was last seen 40 points, or 0.68% higher on the day, with the Nasdaq rising 0.73%. The Dow gained 277 points.
The VIX index, however, continues to suggest the potential for an afternoon selloff, and is pricing in daily swings of 1.27%, or 75 points, for the S&P 500.
"The inflation data we received this morning should provide some relief to investors, who are on the lookout for anything that confirms recent softer economic data," said Steve Wyett, chief investment officer at BOK Financial.
"The central part of this morning’s report that will draw concern form investors was the consumer spending data, which registered below zero," he added. "As growth scares linger, the continued policy uncertainty (particularly on the trade front), and softer economic data, will keep the Fed on the sidelines for now”.
Misery Index, the sum of the unemployment rate and CPI, is 7.0
— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT 🍖 (@MikeZaccardi) February 28, 2025
Below the long-term average of 9.0 @yardeni https://t.co/NfKNK97gp3 pic.twitter.com/lRQox4nPsE
Updated at 9:38 AM EST
Red open
The S&P 500 was marked 13 points lower, or 0.23% in the opening minutes of trading, while the Nasdaq fell 145 points, or 0.78% amid further declines for Nvidia (NVDA) following its fourth quarter earnings update earlier this week.
The Dow gained 118 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 slipped 10 points, or 0.46% following the weak consumer spending figures from the January PCE inflation report.
"The consumer has been the economic golden goose, but the inflation report may be a warning signal alongside recent trends in consumer sentiment," said Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at GlobalX.
"People are doing okay, but they are increasingly worried about prices with looming tariffs and employment with government layoffs," he added.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Feb. 28, 2025)$SPY flat ⬜$QQQ -0.29% 🟥$DJI -0.45% 🟥 $IWM +0.24% 🟩 pic.twitter.com/5b0qjP64gx
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) February 28, 2025
Updated at 8:47 AM EST
Spending slump
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge eased modestly last month, data indicated Friday, but personal spending figures showed one of the biggest pullbacks in three years, suggesting further weakness in the domestic economy.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis's PCE Price Index report for the month of January showed core prices rising at an annual rate of 2.6%, down the December reading of 2.9% and matching Wall Street's consensus forecast.
The BEA also noted that personal incomes for January rose 0.9%, more than doubled Wall Street's estimate and the 0.3% forecast, while spending slumped 0.2% compared with the 0.7% advance in the prior month.
U.S. stocks were little changed following the data release, with futures indicating a 20-point opening bell gain for the S&P 500 and a 235-point advance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The tech-focused Nasdaq is called 30 points higher.
Benchmark 10-year note yields were 2 basis points higher at 4.275% following the data release, while 2-year notes rose 2 basis point to 4.069%.
US January Income, Spending & PCE Price Index: Big gain in household income up 0.9% and spending declined 0.2%. Real spending down 0.5% which is expected given recent rise in inflation and traditional holiday spending hangover in January. PCE PI up 0.3% on the month and 2.5%…
— Joseph Brusuelas (@joebrusuelas) February 28, 2025
Stock Market Today
Last night the S&P 500 fell into negative territory for the year as markets slumped in the wake of disappointing economic data and a retreat in risk assets. The market move followed the president's confirmation that tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, as well as added duties on imports from China, would come into effect on March 4.
The tariff strategy, paired with the ongoing overhaul of the federal workforce and weakening metrics in the world's biggest economy, is weighing on risk markets heading into the final day of February trading. Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields fell to 4.244%, the lowest since December.
Bitcoin prices, seen as a proxy for Trump's post-election support, fell another 5.8% in overnight trading and were last marked at just under $80,000, pegging its peak-to-trough decline at around 25%.
The U.S. dollar index, meanwhile, rose 0.21% to trade at 107.375 against a basket of its global peers. That's the highest in more than two weeks and an indication of cautious sentiment heading into the Friday session.
Beyond trade, Trump’s refusal to commit to a security backstop in Ukraine added another layer of geopolitical uncertainty, said Boris Kovacevic, global macro strategist at Convera.
"Still, conviction around a sustained dollar rally is fading as tariff fatigue and growth concerns weigh on sentiment," he added. "Traders remain cautious despite the elevated trade uncertainty and lack of policy clarity."
Related: US economy faces hit as uncertainty grips markets
In that respect, Friday's focus is likely to shift to the PCE Price Index release at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time, with investors looking for a modest easing in the Fed's preferred inflation gauge over the month of January.
The Atlanta Fed will also update its GDPNow forecasting tool later in the morning session.
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500, which is now down 0.12% for the year and is just 1% higher than it was on Election Day, are priced for a 23-point opening-bell gain.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, are indicated 145 points higher with the tech-focused Nasdaq priced for a 60-point bump.
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In overseas markets, world stocks fell to the lowest level in a month, with the MSCI World index suffering its worst week since December, thanks to the firmer U.S. dollar and renewed tariff threats.
Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.35% lower in Frankfurt, with the FTSE 100 edging 0.21% higher in London.
Overnight in Asia, selling in Hong Kong and mainland China dragged the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index 2.39% lower into the close of trading, while the Nikkei 225 ended 2.88% lower in Tokyo.
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