Stocks Whipsaw at End of Bruising Wall Street Week: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- A roller-coaster week for markets is ending on that same note, with stocks whipsawing as traders tried to make sense of a myriad of headlines around the economy, a trade war and geopolitical developments.

Equities came well off session lows after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is doing fine, while unsurprisingly reiterating that officials remain in no rush to cut rates. The Nasdaq 100 hovered near the threshold of a technical correction. Bonds were little changed after a mixed jobs report left intact traders’ expectations for three rate cuts this year. The dollar was set for 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. The last time that happened, it set the stage for a recovery within days, but the extreme swings in the market are threatening to muddy any signals of a rebound.

US job growth steadied last month while the unemployment rate rose — a mixed snapshot of a market hanging on the balance of quickly changing government policy. Nonfarm payrolls increased 151,000 in February after a downward revision to the prior month. The unemployment rate rose 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 was little changed as of 1:29 p.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
• The MSCI World Index fell 0.3%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0833
• The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2902
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.84 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 2% to $88,084.32
• Ether fell 1.8% to $2,174.52

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.30%
• Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.84%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.64%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $66.99 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,905.83 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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