Wall Street stocks ended sharply lower on Friday, with selloffs in Amazon, Microsoft and other technology heavyweights, after U.S. data stoked fears of weak economic growth and high inflation as the Trump administration ratchets up tariffs. U.S. consumer spending rebounded less than expected in February while a measure of underlying prices increased the most in 13 months.
Adding to concerns, a University of Michigan survey showed consumers’ 12-month inflation expectations soared to the highest in nearly 2-1/2 years in March, and they expect inflation to remain elevated beyond the next year. That data fueled fears that a rush of tariff announcements from U.S. President since taking office in January will boost prices of imported goods, drive inflation and deter the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates. Inflation and tariff worries sent shares of Wall Street’s most valuable companies sharply lower, with Apple AAPL.O falling 2.7%, Microsoft MSFT.O losing 3% and Amazon AMZN.O off 4.3%.
The S&P 500 declined 1.97% to end at 5,580.94 points. The Nasdaq fell 2.70% to 17,322.99 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.69% to 41,583.90 points. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by communication services .SPLRCL , down 3.81%, followed by a 3.27% loss in consumer discretionary .SPLRCD.. With Friday’s losses, the S&P 500 is down about 9% from its record high close on February 19. The Nasdaq is down around 14% from its record high close on December 16.
Interest rate futures suggest traders see a 76% likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points by its June meeting, according to CME Fed Watch. An index tracking interest rate-sensitive banks .SPXBK fell 2.3%. The CBOE volatility index .VIX rose almost 3 points to a one-week high.
Core Weave’s <IPO-CORW.O> shares opened nearly 3% below their offer price in the Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence infrastructure company’s Nasdaq debut on Friday. That weak debut could crush hopes of a meaningful recovery in stock market listings, especially as equity markets grapple with tariff-related turmoil. The President’s commitment to a 25% tariff on auto imports, set to take effect next week, weighed on auto stocks for a second day, with General Motors GM.N down 1.1% and Ford F.N losing 1.8%. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 1.5%, the Nasdaq declined 2.6%, and the Dow fell about 1%.
Shares of Lululemon Athletica LULU.O plunged 14% after the sportswear maker lowered its annual forecasts, citing unpredictability surrounding tariffs. Mining companies Harmony Gold HMY.N and Gold Fields GFI.N rallied 9.5% and 4.5%, respectively, on higher gold prices related to trade war concerns. GOL/
The S&P 500 is on track for its first quarterly decline in six quarters, while the tech-centric Nasdaq is set for its deepest quarterly drop since 2022. UBS Global Wealth Management lowered its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 6,400 from 6,600. Wolf speed’s WOLF.N slumped 52% a day after the chipmaker appointed a new CEO amid its struggles to improve its financial position.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 .AD.SPX by a 4.5-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 10 new highs and 23 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 35 new highs and 358 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 14.3 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 16.2 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian in Bangalore, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; additional reporting by Stephen Culp in New York; Editing by Maju Samuel and Richard Chang.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.