U.S. stocks closed the week higher, with most indexes snapping multi-week declines. Major indices rebounded on Friday after President Donald Trump said there would be some “flexibility” with tariffs. However, he maintained that the tariffs implemented at the April 2 deadline will be reciprocal, saying all countries that have tariffs on U.S. goods will be charged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the best weekly performer, advancing 1.2% while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the worst-performing index during the week. Value outperformed growth for the fifth consecutive week, bringing its total year-to-date outperformance to 897 basis points.

A rally on Friday couldn’t spare US stocks from weekly losses. The Dow fell roughly 3.1% for its worst week since March 2023. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both dropped more than 2% and posted their fourth consecutive losing week. Ongoing uncertainty surrounding trade policy seemed to drive much of the negative sentiment as new tariff announcements continued throughout the week. Growth concerns and increasing recession fears—which were amplified by comments from President Trump regarding a “period of transition” for the U.S. economy—also weighed on sentiment during the week.

Stocks suffered their worst week in six months as an avalanche of geopolitical and macro-economic headlines crossed paths with an ugly technical situation. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 indices all fell by over 3%, while the Dow Jones shed 2.37%, erasing most of its year-to-date gains. Ongoing uncertainty around trade policy remained a focal point throughout the week. Macro data shows manufacturing growth slowing while services activity is accelerating. The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in February, slightly below expectations but ahead of January’s reading of 125,000. In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 Index ended 0.69% lower, snapping 10 weeks of gains.

Most U.S. stock indexes declined for the 2nd consecutive week, although the Dow finished 0.95% higher, adding to its year-to-date outperformance versus the other major indexes. Growth stocks significantly underperformed, and the Nasdaq recorded its worst weekly drop since early September as shares of NVIDIA fell 8.5% on Thursday following the chipmaker’s highly anticipated earnings report. Tariff fears also continued to be a drag on equities as President Trump reiterated plans to impose new levies on several trade partners by March 4. On the macro side, the US core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.3% in January, in line with expectations.

Major equity indexes declined during the week after the S&P 500 closing at record highs on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, indexes retreated sharply in the latter half of the week. Many of the week’s headlines centered around tariff news and amid President Trump’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Investor’s sentiment worsened on Thursday partially due to Walmart’s Q4 earnings report. While the retailer beat estimates for the quarter, its guidance for the year ahead fell short, which led to concerns regarding consumer spending and the health of the overall economy. Elsewhere, the S&P Global flash Composite PMI reading came in at a 17-month low of 50.4.

The Nasdaq was the week's best performing major equity index (up almost 3%) followed by the S&P 500. The laggard was Small Caps which ended the week unchanged. Growth stocks outperformed value shares as Technology, Energy, & Materials all outperformed with only the Healthcare sector in the red for the week. Stocks had their best day of the week on Thursday, largely in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to not introduce new global tariffs, instead signing an order that—following further study—could lead to the implementation of reciprocal tariffs on a country-by-country basis by April 1.

Major US stocks indexes declined during the week, although the S&P 500 Index held up best, falling just 0.2%. Stocks opened sharply lower to start the week in response to the prior Friday’s announcement from Trump stating that the U.S. would be implementing 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with 10% levies on Chinese imports, as of February 1. However, by the end of Monday, Trump had agreed to postpone tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days, which helped stocks recover some of their early losses by the end of the week. Earnings season was another notable driver of sentiment; according to data from FactSet, 77% of S&P 500 Index companies that have reported Q4 results have posted consensus-topping earnings, with an average growth rate of 16.4% (compared with estimates for 11.9% earnings growth).

U.S. stocks finished the volatile week mostly lower, although the Dow rose modestly to notch its third straight week of gains. The Nasdaq Composite experienced a particularly steep drop on Monday, driven by a sell-off in tech stocks in response to the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI developer, which released a new open-source large language model that reportedly requires much less energy and processing power than other leading AI applications, leading to competitive concerns in the broader AI space. The news led to shares of NVIDIA falling nearly 17% on Monday.

The S&P 500 Index notched a new record high on Thursday before dipping modestly lower on Friday. Growth stocks outperformed value shares during the week for the 1st time this year. Large-caps generally outperformed small-caps. It was a quiet week on the US macro front although it ended on a very down note as Services PMI plunged and inflation expectations soared. Headlines during the week were largely dominated by political developments in the wake of Monday’s inauguration of President Trump. Notably, he did not impose a new round of tariffs on day one—as some had feared—and instead, called for a review of U.S. trade policies to determine the impact of potential future tariffs.

Major U.S. stock indexes finished the week higher, rebounding from a sharp sell-off at the end of the prior week. Value stocks outperformed growth shares by the widest weekly margin since September, driven in part by outperformance in the energy sector amid higher oil prices and some profit-taking in large-cap tech stocks. The financials sector also posted strong weekly gains, aided by some earnings upside surprises. On the macro side, year-over-year US core inflation (less food and energy) slowed in December to 3.2% versus 3.3% in November and lower than expected. This number provides optimism that the Fed is still making progress on bringing down inflation following several months of elevated readings, which keeps the door open for potential rate cuts later in the year.