The Dow Jones Index (^DJI) was down 469.38 (-1.0110%) points today, currently sitting at 45,960.11. The main narrative driving the market lower was the release of the February Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. The data indicated that inflationary pressures remain more persistent than economists anticipated, effectively cooling expectations for a pivot to lower interest rates in the first half of the year. This shift in monetary policy expectations caused Dow Futures (YM=F) to also move lower, as they were down 188.00 (-0.4067%) points today at 46,042.00.
The sell-off was most pronounced in the semiconductor and industrial sectors. Nvidia (NVDA) was the biggest loser on the index, down 3.59% to $171.24, as higher yields pressured high-multiple tech stocks. Other major decliners included 3M (MMM), which was down 2.74% to $143.99, and Boeing (BA), down 2.24% to $194.36. Financial giant Goldman Sachs (GS) was also down 1.90% to $822.64.
Conversely, Salesforce (CRM) bucked the trend, as it was up 1.89% to $185.64 on strong enterprise software demand. Energy giant Chevron (CVX) was up 1.24% to $207.79, benefiting from geopolitical tensions affecting supply. Apple (AAPL) remained a bright spot, up 0.90% to $252.89, while Verizon (VZ) was up 0.75% to $50.74 as defensive positioning became the preferred strategy for traders navigating the volatile session.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.