Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq retreat amid angst on inflation, tariffs

Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:

Chicago Federal Reserve president Austan Goolsbee told Yahoo Finance Friday that the central bank “may be on hold” for now, but he still sees interest rates moving lower over the “next 12-18 months.”

The comments about Fed monetary policy came after the release of a new jobs report for January that showed several signs of resilience. There were 143,000 jobs created, which was below estimates, but the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.0% from 4.1% and wages and wages grew by 0.5%.

Goolsbee in an exclusive interview Friday called the jobs report “solid” and said it showed “we’re settling into something like full employment.”

Read more here.

Yahoo Finance’s Alexandra Canal reports:

A rising number of Americans are anxious about the state of the US economy — and it’s all about inflation.

The latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey released Friday showed headline sentiment declined to its lowest level in seven months as pessimism over the inflation outlook drove down February’s preliminary read and one-year inflation expectations jumped to 4.3% from 3.3% last month.

This was the highest reading for inflation expectations since November 2023 and marked two consecutive months of “unusually large” increases, according to the release.

Read more here.

Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley reports:

President Trump’s trade war with China kicked off on Tuesday, with the White House implementing a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods coming into the US. Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are already getting caught up in what could turn into a series of tit-for-tat actions between the world’s two largest economies.

On Tuesday, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced that it is opening an antitrust investigation into Google (GOOG, GOOGL). The agency didn’t provide any additional details about the move.

Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that China is considering launching an antitrust investigation into Apple’s (AAPL) App Store practices. SAMR officials have been speaking with Apple executives for some time already, but the timing of the potential probe sets up Apple as another pawn in the economic chess match between the superpowers.

Read more here.

Today’s higher mortgage rate reality is finally sinking in with potential homebuyers and sellers.

For months, a plurality of consumers polled by Fannie Mae were confident that mortgage rates would drop in the next year. But the mortgage giant’s latest poll showed a 13-point swing away from that view.

Just 35% of respondents surveyed by the mortgage giant in January now expect mortgage rates to drop, down from 42% in December and a survey-high 45% in November. Meanwhile, the share of consumers who think rates will rise jumped to 32%, from 25%.

Housing market economists have warned that mortgage rates might not fall much this year after the Fed lowered its expectations for rate-cutting, and uncertainties linger over how President Donald Trump’s economic agenda could affect inflation and economic growth.

The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.89% this week through Wednesday. It’s been hovering around 7% for all of 2025.

The major averages turned negative after consumer sentiment data fell below expectations for the month of February.

The Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped to 67.8, coming in below expectations of 71.8. The February preliminary reading was the lowest registered in about 7 months.

“Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped up from 3.3% last month to 4.3% this month, the highest reading since November 2023 and marking two consecutive months of unusually large increases,” said the survey.

By 10:15 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) sank 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also fell 0.2%.

Meanwhile the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.5%.

Among the Big Tech names, Amazon’s (AMZN) stock sank to session lows, dipping nearly 4% after the e-commerce giant issued disappointing revenue outlook.

Stocks inched higher on Friday as investors digested a monthly jobs report that showed some resilience in the labor market.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) hovered near the flat line, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) opened slightly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.1%.

The US economy added 143,000 jobs in January, less than the 173,000 expected by economists. However, hourly wages ticked higher, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.0% from 4.1%.

Meanwhile, December’s jobs additions were revised up to 307,000, from an earlier reading of 256,000 — a sign the labor market exited 2024 on a better footing than thought.

On the earnings front, Amazon’s (AMZN) disappointing revenue outlook dragged on shares of the tech giant, which fell more than 2%.

Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer reports:

The US labor market showed continued signs of resilience in January as the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell and wages grew more than expected.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed the unemployment rate fell to 4% in January from 4.1% the month prior.

143,000 new jobs were created in January, less than the 170,000 expected by economists, and lower than the 307,000 seen in December. December’s monthly job gains were revised higher from a previous reading of 256,000.

Read more here.