Stock Market News for Feb 24, 2025

U.S. stock ended sharply lower on Friday, with the Dow recording its worst weekly close since October, as fresh data raised further concerns over the economy’s health and President Donald Trump’s tariff plans dented investors’ confidence. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) tumbled 1.7% or 748.63 points, to end at 43,428.02 points.  

The S&P 500 slid 1.7% or 104.39 points, to close at 6,013.13 points. Tech, consumer discretionary and industrial stocks were the worst performers. 

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) declined 2.7%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) fell 2.6%. The Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) declined 2.2%. Nine of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 2.2% or 438.36 points to finish at 19,524,01 points. 

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 16.28% to 18.21. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.64-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 3.04-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 17.06 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 15.30 billion.

Concerns Over Economy’s Health Grow

Markets have been volatile over the past few sessions following the release of a spate of disappointing economic data. Inflation has been edging up, which has raised fears of an economic slowdown. Trump’s tariff plans have also raised fears of a potential global trade war. 

On Friday, the fears escalated after the release of a fresh batch of economic data that was equally disappointing. 

The University of Michigan’s final reading of the consumer sentiment index dropped to 64.7 in February, a decline of almost 10 percentage points from the prior month and sharply lower than the analysts’ expectations. 

The decline came as consumers worried about rising inflation and the impact of Trump’s tariffs. The five-year inflation outlook rose to 3.5%, the highest level since 1995.  

A separate report showed that manufacturing activity also grew slower than expected in January. U.S. services purchasing managers’ index dropped to 51.6, below, lower than the economists’ expectations of 52.8. The services PMI also fell into contraction territory, declining to 49.7, its lowest level in more than two years.

The data came a day after Walmart, Inc. (WMT) issued disappointing sales and profit guidance for the current fiscal year. On Friday, the retail behemoth’s shares continued its southward journey, declining 2.5%. Walmart has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Also, shares of chip and tech stocks fell on Friday as investors moved toward safer stocks. Shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) fell 4.1%, while Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) lost 1.9%. 

Economic Data

In other economic data released on Friday, the National Realtors Association said that existing home sales dropped 4.9%% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, higher than economists’ expectations of 4.12 million units. 

Weekly Roundup

All three major indexes ended in negative territory for the week. The S&P 500 ended the week down 1.7%. The Dow and the Nasdaq each lost 2.5% for the week. 

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