US benchmark equity indexes faced declines during intraday trading following a contentious meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The discussions concluded with apparent disagreements, leading to a decline across major indices. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite each fell by 0.1%.
Specifically, the Dow recorded a value of 43,223.7, the S&P 500 reached 5,855.9, and the Nasdaq stood at 18,480.7. Within these indices, the technology and health care sectors experienced the most significant downturns, while the energy sector managed to gain an upper hand amidst the volatility. Zelenskyy departed from the White House after negotiations with Trump did not yield the desired results.
According to reports, the US has interests in accessing Ukraine's rare earth minerals as part of a wider initiative aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In remarks shared on Truth Social, Trump expressed that profound insights were gained despite the tense environment during discussions.
He concluded that President Zelenskyy may not be ready for a peaceful resolution with the US's involvement, suggesting that Zelenskyy perceived US participation as advantageous in negotiations. Trump further noted that Zelenskyy could return for discussions when a genuine commitment to peace is evident. On the economic front, US Treasury yields experienced a decline, with the two-year yield dropping by 8.5 basis points to settle at 4%.
Additionally, the 10-year rate saw a decrease of 6.2 basis points, falling to 4.23%. Recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed US personal consumption expenditures dipped by 0.2% in January, contrasted with a prior increase of 0.8% in December. Analysts had anticipated a moderation in spending growth, projecting a decrease to 0.2%. The Federal Reserve's core inflation measure—excluding food and energy—slowed to 2.6% in January, down from 2.9% in the previous month, although it indicated a sequential uptick of 0.3%.
These inflation figures were consistent with what analysts had projected. TD Economics provided a broader analysis, indicating that US households are generally in a sound financial position, buoyed by a robust labor market and considerable wealth reserves. As conditions remain favorable, real consumer spending is expected to remain resilient in the upcoming year, albeit with growth expectations moderating to around 2%. In the sphere of corporate performance, NetApp ($NTAP) witnessed the steepest decline on the S&P 500, plummeting by 17% after the company revised its fiscal 2025 outlook downwards on the previous Thursday.
Meanwhile, Dell Technologies ($DELL) suffered a 6.2% drop in intraday trading on Friday, following the announcement of fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations but fell short in terms of revenue against Wall Street predictions. Conversely, AES ($AES) shares surged nearly 11% intraday, marking the highest performance on the S&P 500, buoyed by a promising earnings outlook for the full year subsequent to a quarterly beat. Additionally, Monster Beverage ($MNST) emerged as one of the top gainers, rising 4.6% after reporting fourth-quarter sales that surpassed market forecasts, spurred by increased prices and burgeoning demand within the US market. On the commodities front, West Texas Intermediate crude oil experienced a slight decline of 0.2% to $70.19 per barrel intraday.
Precious metals also fell, with gold slipping 1.5% to $2,852.10 per troy ounce and silver decreasing by 1.8% to $31.54 per ounce..