Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rally to cap volatile week, losing month

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.

The price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) dropped as much as 7% on Friday to $78,495 as investors digested rising fears of a recession and the looming tariffs by the Trump administration.

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.”

Read more about bitcoin’s downturn here.

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.

Tesla (TSLA) shares also rallied on Friday, but were also on track to lose 13% for the week as the ‘Trump trade’ continues to unwind. Shares of the EV giant are down roughly 27% year-to-date.

Alphabet (GOOG,GOOGL), Meta (META), Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) were all set to close out the week lower as investors assessed President Trump’s tariff plans and the potential impact those could have on the economy.

A visit meant to cement a US security deal with Ukraine devolved into a heated on-camera argument between President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, as the two American leaders criticized Zelensky for not being thankful enough for US support and pushed him to accept their terms for a resolution.

As the cameras rolled, both Trump and Vance raised their voices at times and spoke over Zelensky, who appeared to keep his cool but also didn’t seem to advance his cause as the American leaders continued to air their grievances.

Following the televised conflict, Trump posted on Truth Social that “Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved.” He added that Zelensky “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

The Atlanta Fed’s running estimate of real GDP growth showed a reading of -1.5% Friday, a sharp decrease from earlier readings and the latest warning sign of an economic slowdown amid President Trump’s tariff battle.

While the reading is not an official forecast, it nonetheless offered a striking data point even as other models continue to show positive growth for the current quarter.

The GDPNow model previously showed a reading of 2.3% earlier this week and recorded a measurement of 3.9% earlier this month.

Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during afternoon trading on Friday:

Palantir (PLTR): The data analytics company dropped 3% Friday, continuing a losing streak that has eaten into nearly one-third of its share price since its record high earlier this month. Retail investors who have flocked to the stock and boosted the ticker to the top of the charts have pulled back, risking a continued unwinding. The downward trend comes as the Trump administration moves to cut defense spending, a major source of Palantir’s income.

Rocket Lab (RKLB): Shares of the aerospace manufacturer fell 0.6% Friday afternoon following a disappointing first quarter revenue forecast and the delay of the launch of its Neutron rocket to the second half of the year.

Strategy (MSTR): The largest corporate holder of bitcoin (formerly known as MicroStrategy) bounced back after getting knocked down this week in a broad crypto rout. Shares rose about 3% as of the afternoon. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), the most dominant cryptocurrency, has shed roughly 12% this week. Macroeconomic uncertainty around tariffs and inflation and a $1.5 billion crypto exchange hack contributed to the pullback among investors.

Autodesk (ADSK): The software company beat expectations on the top and bottom lines but investors still pulled back, even as the company announced plans to focus on profitability, including a cut of more than 1,300 jobs. The restructuring plan would impact about 9% of the company’s workforce.

Wall Street is looking to put a rough month of trading to rest as the afternoon session is poised to end with some positive momentum, even as the major averages are set to record a losing month.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose about 0.7% after suffering a Nvidia-led (NVDA) sell-off on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 0.6%.

The uptick Friday followed a key inflation reading that largely met expectations, providing some relief to investors. But Trump’s renewed tariff threats have added to global economic uncertainty.

Trump said an extra 10% tariff on Chinese imports would take hold next week. And he said he would follow through on new duties on Mexico and Canada and would impose tariffs on the EU.

A fresh reading showing a drop in consumer spending added to a wave of concerning data suggesting that Americans are anxious about coming tariffs and the potential price hikes that could follow.

American consumers cut their spending by 0.2% in January, compared to the prior month, according to data published by the Commerce Department Friday.

While the data also showed that inflation cooled, the president’s plans to impose tariffs on Mexico and China next week could push prices higher, economists and business leaders say.

“Softer consumer spending and slower income growth should catch the Fed’s attention,” said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial. “Despite the deceleration in the annual pace of inflation, the monthly rate is still running hotter than the Fed would like.”

The spending data follows two recent consumer sentiment surveys that highlighted a souring outlook among Americans.

Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during morning trading on Friday:

Dell (DELL): Shares of the technology company fell 6% Friday morning following a mixed revenue outlook for the current quarter. Dell reported quarterly results Thursday with sales that missed analysts’ estimates but logged earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

Palantir (PLTR): The data analytics company dropped 1% Friday, continuing a losing streak that has eaten into nearly one-third of its share price since its record high earlier this month. Retail investors who have flocked to the stock and boosted the ticker to the top of the charts have pulled back, risking a continued unwinding. The downward trend comes as the Trump administration moves to cut defense spending, a major source of Palantir’s income.

HP (HP): The legacy IT company fell 6% Friday as it expects President Trump’s tariff policies around China to weigh on the profit outlook for the second quarter and full-year 2025. As the computer company reported earnings on Thursday, it also said up to 2,000 more employees would be laid off as part of a cost-savings plan.

Strategy (MSTR): The largest corporate holder of bitcoin (formerly known as MicroStrategy) bounced back in morning trading after getting knocked down this week in a broad crypto rout. Shares rose about 5%. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), the most dominant cryptocurrency, has shed roughly 12% this week. Macroeconomic uncertainty around tariffs and inflation and a $1.5 billion crypto exchange hack contributed to the pullback among investors.

Redfin stock (RDFN) tumbled 13% on Friday after the online real estate company reported fourth quarter earnings that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations and provided a discouraging outlook.

The company posted a net loss of $0.29 for each share of common stock, worse than the $0.23 loss per share analysts expected. The revenue guidance for the next quarter, in a range of $214 million to $225 million, also didn’t impress, coming below analysts’ estimates of $244.4 million.

This is a mixed report, and the outlook “was below on revenue and especially so on EBITDA,” which “is critical as Redfin has been keenly focused on reaching profitability since 2023 and not yet consistently reached,” Citi’s Ygal Arounian wrote in a note to clients after the company’s earnings.

CEO Glenn Kelman remains optimistic despite ongoing housing challenges, expecting higher profits from the rental partnership with Zillow.

“One reason Redfin is focused on gaining market shares [is that] home sales are unlikely to significantly recover in 2025,” Kelman told analysts and investors on Thursday’s earnings call.

Organic egg giant Vital Farms (VITL) told investors on Thursday that the bird flu ripping through US farms right now will keep pressure on supply to start the year, but that shortages should ease later in 2025.

“Industry supply will remain under pressure to start the year due to the impact of HPAI on poultry flocks across the United States,” Vital Farms CEO Russell Diez-Canseco said in a release.

“We have experienced supply constraints to start the year. However, as the year progresses, we believe the supply chain investments we made in 2024 and into 2025 will begin bearing fruit.”

In its fourth quarter ended Dec. 29, the company reported revenue rose 22.2% to $166 million. For the full-year, revenues tallied $606 million. The company expects full-year 2025 revenues to be “at least” $740 million.

Shares were up as much as 5% early Friday. The stock has lost about 13% so far this year but is up close to 90% over the last 12 months.

Egg shortages and a surge in egg prices have been one of the biggest economic stories for consumers to start 2025. In January, the average price of a dozen eggs in the US hit a record $4.95, up 15.2% over the prior month and 53% from the same month last year.

And as politicians, economists, and investors learned vividly during the post-pandemic inflation boom, consumers dislike many things about inflation, but nothing stings quite like spiking grocery prices.

Especially for a household staple like eggs.

An inflation reading that served to calm anxieties over pricing pressures did little to boost US stocks Friday, as the print met expectations but arrived amid fresh tariff threats, which added to uncertainty over Big Tech prospects.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose just over the flat line, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up about 0.5% after suffering an Nvidia-led (NVDA) sell-off on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 0.2%.

The January reading of Personal Consumption Expenditures index did its part to soothe some anxiety after recent data revived concerns 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.

Tesla (TSLA) shares have tumbled 30% this year and have wiped out nearly all of their post-Trump election gains. The stock is trading steady in premarket, following its 3% drop in Thursday’s tech sell-off.

Several factors are helping drive the retreat. Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:

Read more here.