Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 13, 2025.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
The S&P 500 was flat Friday after the latest personal consumption expenditures price index came in-line with expectations as Wall Street wrapped up a losing week and month.
The broad market index added 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed with a rise of 121 points, or 0.2%.
The latest PCE reading showed that inflation eased slightly in January, according to a report from the Commerce Report. The PCE price index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, increased 0.3% for the month and 2.5% on an annual basis.
Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also rose 0.3% for the month and 2.6% year over year. The numbers all came in as expected with Dow Jones consensus estimates.
This comes amidst heightened uncertainty due to President Donald Trump’s promise of tariffs and recent economic reports flashing warning signs. A decline of 8.5% in megacap tech titan Nvidia in Thursday’s session the back of earnings threw more cold water on investor sentiment. Shares pulled back an additional 2.4% on Friday.
“February is seasonally a volatile period of time for stocks, and that historical trend is playing out right now,” said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. “Investors are in search of more clarity on tariffs, elevated inflation and the state of the consumer.”
Month to date, the Nasdaq has led the way down, sliding around 5.3% in February due largely to a 5% drop this week. The technology-heavy Nasdaq is on pace for its worst month since September 2023.
The S&P 500 has declined 2.4% for the week and around 2.9% in February. The broad market index is on track for its worst week since September 2024 and biggest monthly decline since April 2024. The Dow has seen more modest losses this week, with a retreat of just 0.2%. Month to date, the 30-stock index has pulled back 2.7%.
