(Bloomberg) — A roller-coaster week for markets ended on that same note, with stocks whipsawing as traders tried to make sense of a myriad of headlines around the economy, tariffs and geopolitical developments.
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Just minutes after a slide that drove the S&P 500 down over 1%, the gauge staged an “oversold bounce” as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is fine. The Nasdaq 100 moved away from the threshold of a correction. Bonds fell. In the first signal of a positive response from President Vladimir Putin to US counterpart Donald Trump’s call for a ceasefire, Russia was said to be willing to discuss a temporary truce in Ukraine. The dollar saw its worst week since November 2022.
“What I do know is that volatility seems like the only thing that is certain at the moment,” said Kenny Polcari at SlateStone Wealth. “Investors should make sure they understand that and are prepared for what that means. So, make sure you are well diversified for this ride.”
It’s been a whirlwind of a week for markets as tariffs hit a fever pitch, sending the S&P 500 into a tailspin that briefly drove it below a closely watched technical level: its 200-day moving average. While the gauge saw a late-day rebound, it still ended with its worst weekly selloff since September.
Wall Street also kept an eye on the latest economic data. US job growth steadied last month while the unemployment rate rose — a mixed snapshot of the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls increased 151,000 in February after a downward revision to the prior month. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.1%.
“We are not putting much stock in the jobs report at the moment,” said Byron Anderson at Laffer Tengler Investments. “Today’s data was mixed at best, but we still have no clarity on the economy moving forward. Markets, businesses, and consumers do not like uncertainty and that means increased volatility.”
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
The MSCI World Index rose 0.2%
Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.2%
The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.4%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
The euro rose 0.6% to $1.0851
The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2929
The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.89 per dollar
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