US equity indexes experienced slight gains after initially surrendering intraday profits following President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which concluded with a reportedly tense exchange. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to close at 18,563.8, while the S&P 500 also rose 0.1% to settle at 5,868.5, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average similarly increased by 0.1% to finish at 43,291.2 on Friday afternoon.
Earlier in the session, all three indexes saw increases as data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that the Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge was in line with market predictions. Despite the optimistic opening, technology and healthcare sectors led the market decline in the afternoon, marking a significant shift from the morning when nearly all sectors were performing well except for one. During the Oval Office discussions, Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy reportedly negotiated a deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine's mineral resources in exchange for investments and what Kyiv expects to be security guarantees.
Trump was quoted as stating to Zelenskyy, "You're not really in [a] good position right now. You're gambling with World War III." Furthermore, Vice President JD Vance labeled Zelenskyy as "disrespectful" for attempting to litigate the conflict publicly. US Treasury yields took a downturn, with the 2-year yield plunging 8.1 basis points, nearing 4%, while the 10-year yield dropped 5.4 basis points to 4.23%. The CBOE's volatility index, known as VIX, initially traded lower but surged by 5.5% to 22.30, reaching the highest intraday level since mid-December, a move reflective of changing investor sentiment following the Presidential meeting. On the economic front, the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) reported a month-over-month increase of 0.3%, aligning with forecasts and easing the year-over-year rate to 2.5% from 2.6%.
The core PCE price index also rose by 0.3%, meeting expectations after recording a 0.2% gain in December. The year-on-year rate decreased to 2.6% from 2.9% recorded in the prior month. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel, commented, "The latest read on prices -- via the PCE -- seems to offer more reassurance about potentially reinstating a disinflationary trend or at least halting the recent upward trajectory, following four consecutive months of increasing consumer and producer price growth." Nonetheless, she expressed concerns about declining economic momentum amid inflationary pressures, particularly in light of upcoming fiscal policy initiatives, including tariffs. Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management reported that Chicago's PMI index climbed to 45.5 in February, an improvement from 39.5 in January, surpassing the expected 40.8 in a Bloomberg survey. In company-specific news, AES Corporation reported a significant 10% rise in shares intraday, making it the top performer on the S&P 500, following the company’s announcement of higher-than-expected fourth-quarter adjusted earnings and a projection for full-year 2025 results that exceeded average analyst estimates compiled by FactSet. Conversely, NetApp shares suffered a 17% decline intraday after its quarterly results fell short of expectations.
The company "unexpectedly stumbled" in fiscal Q3, reporting revenues at the low end of its guidance, and projecting a muted recovery in Q4, according to a review by Wedbush Securities. Finally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures dipped 0.6% to $69.94 per barrel, while gold futures decreased by 1.3% to $2,857.11, and silver futures fell 1.5% to $31.63..