US benchmark equity indexes experienced an uptick on Friday, even in the wake of a tumultuous meeting between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Reports from CNBC indicate that Zelenskyy departed the White House after discussions between the two leaders deteriorated into an intense exchange.
Access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals was a point of contention as part of a wider strategy to de-escalate the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In a post on Truth Social, Trump remarked, "Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure." He expressed skepticism about Zelenskyy’s readiness for peace, stating, "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations." On the economic front, the Federal Reserve's preferred core measure, which intentionally excludes food and energy, saw a decrease to 2.6% in January, down from 2.9% the prior month.
Meanwhile, on a sequential basis, the core measure recorded a 0.3% gain, aligning with analysts' forecasts. TD Economics commented, "Broadly speaking, US households remain in good financial shape, supported by a still-healthy labor market and a significant wealth cushion. As long as this remains the case, we expect real consumer spending to stay resilient this year, with growth moderating to around 2%." In the energy sector, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April delivery settled at $70.02 per barrel after decreasing by $0.33.
Similarly, April Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last observed down $0.86 at $73.18 due to uncertainties stemming from President Trump’s decision to enforce a 10% tariff on oil and gas imports from Canada, which is its largest supplier. This move comes alongside tighter sanctions imposed on Venezuela and Iran, further adding to market volatility. In stock market news, AES ($AES) shares surged over 11% as the company provided a positive outlook for its full-year earnings following a strong quarterly performance that exceeded expectations.
Conversely, Dell Technologies ($DELL) saw its shares tumble nearly 5% after the computer manufacturer reported stronger-than-expected fiscal Q4 earnings, though revenue fell short of Wall Street estimates..