Nasdaq Down 100 Points; Federal Reserve's Favorite Inflation Gauge Increases More Than Expected

U.S. stocks traded lower this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 100 points on Friday.

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded down 0.24% to 42,198.64 while the NASDAQ fell 0.57% to 17,701.94. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.36% to 5,672.68.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares jumped by 0.6% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, consumer discretionary shares fell by 1.4%.

Top Headline

The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose more than anticipated in February, underscoring the bumpy road back to the 2% target and throwing cold water on expectations for imminent interest rate cuts.

According to data released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased by 2.5% year-over-year, matching both the previous reading and economist forecasts of 2.5%. On a monthly basis, headline PCE rose 0.3%, in line with estimates.

Equities Trading UP

Portage Biotech Inc. PRTG shares shot up 170% to $12.79 after the company reported new data for PORT-7 at the 2025 European Lung Cancer Congress.
Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. LXRXgot a boost, surging 83% to $0.6359 after the company announced an exclusive license agreement with Novo Nordisk for LX9851.
DBV Technologies S.A. DBVT shares were also up, gaining 43% to $5.79 after the company announced up to $307 million in financing to advance the Viaskin Peanut program.

Equities Trading DOWN

Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. MIST shares dropped 64% to $0.7997 after the company received a letter from the FDA for its new drug applicationfFor CARDAMYST nasal spray.
Shares of XTI Aerospace, Inc. XTIA were down 48% to $1.2689 after the company priced its public offering at $1.36 per share.
Wolfspeed, Inc. WOLF was down, falling 41% to $3.18. On Thursday, Wolfspeed announced the appointment of Robert Feurle as CEO, effective May 1, 2025.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.1% to $69.82 while gold traded up 0.5% at $3,106.80.

Silver traded up 0.5% to $35.255 on Friday, while copper rose 0.5% to $5.1440.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.3%, Germany's DAX 40 fell 0.5% and France's CAC 40 dipped 0.6%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.5%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 1.80%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declining 0.67%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipping 0.65% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.25%.

Economics

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased by 2.5% year-over-year, matching both the previous reading and economist forecasts of 2.5%. On a monthly basis, headline PCE rose 0.3%, in line with estimates.
Personal spending rose 0.4% month-over-month in February after a 0.3% contraction in January, but missing expectations for a 0.5% increase.
Personal income growth accelerated to 0.8%, above January’s 0.7% and well beyond the 0.4% estimate.

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