Stocks fell on Friday after another key inflation report came in hotter-than-expected, dimming market optimism following its release. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 150 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. All three market averages also ended their five-week winning streaks on Friday.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
On the Economic Front: Wholesale prices rose at a faster-than-expected pace in January, the Labor Department reported Friday, dashing some hopes that the Fed will lower interest rates in the near-term. The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.3% for the month, jumping the most since August, after PPI fell 0.2% in December.
Excluding food and energy prices, core PII also increased 0.5%, coming in well above expectations for a 0.1% rise, while PPI excluding food, energy and trade services climbed 0.6% -- its biggest month-to-month increase since January 2023.
Separately, consumer sentiment and inflation expectations remained stable in February's preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's survey on Friday. The February preliminary sentiment reading came in at 79.6, rising just 0.6 points from January, but coming in slightly below analyst expectations. In regard to inflation, one-year outlook ticked higher to 3%, while the five-year outlook remained at 2.9%.
"The fact that sentiment lost no ground this month suggests that consumers continue to feel more assured about the economy, confirming the considerable improvement in December and January across various aspects of the economy," said Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, in a statement.
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