US Stocks Plunge on Friday
US stocks traded sharply lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 down 1.4%, the Nasdaq down 1.9% and the Dow Jones down 500 points, as investors continued to weigh the impact of new tariffs while digesting the latest PCE report. Core PCE prices rose 0.4% on the month, above estimates, pushing the annual rate higher to 2.8%, in a sign of rising price pressures. Additionally, personal spending increased less than expected.
Meanwhile, new reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect next week. Consumer discretionary and communications services were the worst performers so far while utilities outperformed. Megacaps fell sharply, including Apple (-1.8%), Microsoft (-2.1%), Nvidia (-1.7%), Amazon (-3.4%), Meta (-2.8%), Alphabet (-3.3%) and Tesla (-2.6%). For the week, the three major indexes were on track to post small gains, their second straight winning week. The Dow is up 0.8% so far, the S&P 500 is up 0.5% and the Nasdaq is up 0.1%
Source: Trading Economics
