After a somewhat shaky start to the session, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have all moved back to the upside following the significant weakness seen in the previous session.
Currently, the major averages are hovering near their best levels of the day. The Dow is up 265.71 points or 0.6 percent at 43,505.21, the Nasdaq is up 104.35 points or 0.6 percent at 18,648.77 and the S&P 500 is up 34.04 points or 0.6 percent at 5,895.61.
The strength that has emerged on Wall Street comes as traders look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, which saw the Nasdaq plunge to a nearly four-month closing low in Thursday’s session.
The Dow and the S&P 500 also ended the previous session at their lowest closing levels in over a month amid a slump by shares of Nvidia (NVDA).
Nvidia has shown a strong move back to the upside on the day, with the AI darling and market leader jumping by 2.0 percent after plunging by 8.5 percent on Thursday.
Buying interest has also been generated in reaction to a Commerce Department report showing closely watched readings on U.S. consumer price inflation increased in line with economist estimates in the month of January.
The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.3 percent in January, matching the increase seen in December as well as economist estimates.
The annual rate of growth by the PCE price index slowed to 2.5 percent in January from 2.6 percent in December, which also matched expectations.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE price still climbed by 0.3 percent in January after edging up by 0.2 percent in December. The increase by core prices was also in line with estimates.
The annual rate of core PCE price growth slowed to 2.6 percent in January from 2.9 percent in December, which also matched expectations.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation were included in the Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending.
However, traders still seem somewhat reluctant to get back into the markets amid lingering concerns about a global trade war.
After President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China as early as next Tuesday, China vowed to take “all necessary countermeasures and defend its legitimate rights and interests.”
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks are showing a significant rebound following Thursday’s sell-off, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing by 1.5 percent after ending the previous session at a five-month closing low.
Considerable strength is also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones Transportation Average. The average is also bouncing off its lowest closing level in almost five months.
Banking stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, while computer hardware stocks are seeing substantial weakness, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 2.5 percent.
A steep drop by NetApp (NTAP) is weighing on the computer hardware sector, with the data infrastructure company plunging by 15.7 percent after reporting weaker than expected fiscal third quarter revenues and providing disappointing fiscal fourth quarter earnings guidance.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dove by 2.9 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plummeted by 3.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the upside following the pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.3 basis points at 4.254 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher After Shaky Start
2025-02-28 15:56:34
