As the trading day comes to a close on Friday, February 28, 2025, the U.S. stock market wrapped up a challenging month with mixed results. The S&P 500<\/a> and Nasdaq Composite struggled to maintain momentum, while the Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average managed to eke out modest gains.<\/p>\n The S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended the day down 0.1%, closing at 5,858.90 points. Similarly, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) shed 0.3%, finishing at 18,509.17. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) managed to close slightly higher, gaining 0.04% to end at 43,247.20. The market’s struggles can be attributed to several factors, including renewed trade tensions and a significant selloff in the technology sector. President Trump<\/a>’s recent announcement of potential new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China has reignited fears of a global trade war. Adding to the market’s woes, high-flying tech stocks have experienced a sharp pullback. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, which tracks the performance of major tech giants, has plummeted 9.3% this month, its worst showing since its inception in April 2023. Recent economic data has painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. The Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ending February 22 increased to 242,000, up 22,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. On a more positive note, the Bureau of Economic Analysis confirmed that U.S. GDP grew by 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024, matching initial estimates and analysts’ expectations. Several stocks made significant moves during Friday’s trading session:<\/p>\n 1. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA<\/a>)<\/b>: The chip giant saw its stock rise 1.66% to $122.14, rebounding from recent losses. In earnings news, several companies reported their quarterly results before the market opened on February 28. Notable reports included:<\/p>\n – Chart Industries, Inc. (GTLS<\/a>)<\/b>: The machinery company was expected to report earnings per share of $3.19, representing a 41.78% increase year-over-year. As investors look to March, several key events and data releases will be closely watched:<\/p>\n 1. Implementation of new tariffs<\/b>: The market will be monitoring the impact of the proposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, set to take effect on March 4. In conclusion, as February draws to a close, the U.S. stock market faces significant challenges, including trade tensions, tech sector volatility, and mixed economic indicators. Investors will need to navigate these uncertainties carefully in the coming weeks, keeping a close eye on both macroeconomic trends and individual company performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Major Indexes Close Out Tough Month As the trading day comes to a close on Friday, February 28, 2025, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[633,702,3850,3883,4113],"class_list":["post-48961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market-update","tag-nvda","tag-gtls","tag-pltr","tag-soun","tag-rdnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Trade Tensions and Tech Selloff Weigh on Markets<\/h2>\n
Economic Indicators and Upcoming Events<\/h2>\n
Notable Stock Movements and Earnings Reports<\/h2>\n
2. Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR<\/a>)<\/b>: Shares of the data analytics firm fell 1.64% to $83.38.
3. SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN<\/a>)<\/b>: The AI company’s stock surged 18.13% to $10.88, making it one of the day’s top gainers<\/a>.
– RadNet, Inc. (RDNT<\/a>)<\/b>: The medical outpatient care company’s earnings were projected to decrease by 25% to $0.15 per share.Looking Ahead: Key Events and Market Outlook<\/h2>\n
2. Jobs report<\/b>: Next week’s employment data will be crucial in assessing the health of the labor market and potential implications for monetary policy.
3. Earnings season continuation<\/b>: As more companies report their quarterly results, investors will be looking for signs of corporate health and economic resilience.<\/p>\n