US Equity Indexes Slump This Week as Hot PCE Inflation Report Turns Focus on Price Impact of Tariffs

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US Equity Indexes Slump This Week as Hot PCE Inflation Report Turns Focus on Price Impact of Tariffs

, MT Newswires - 4:52 PM ET 3/28/2025 US Markets

04:52 PM EDT, 03/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell this week as the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge jumped more than forecast and President Donald Trump unveiled 25% tariffs on automobile imports, igniting concern that price pressures could worsen.

* The S&P 500 closed at 5,580.94 on Friday, versus 5,667.56 a week earlier. The Nasdaq Composite stood at 17,322.99 compared with 17,784.05 a week prior. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 41,583.90 end-of-play, versus 41,985.35 a week ago.

* Except Tesla (TSLA), all the other Magnificent 7 stocks were down for the week.

* On Wednesday, Trump unveiled a 25% tariff on all imports of cars and light trucks, effective April 3. Before that, Scotiabank noted an "expedited move to impose a 25% tariff on copper imports into the US that could be implemented within weeks and hence on a much shorter timeline than previously understood." Then, on April 2, Trump will likely unveil reciprocal tariffs.

* The tariffs unveiled on new cars and parts and reciprocal tariffs coming next week will "add upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth," Morgan Stanley said. "If permanent, the announced auto tariffs might add 20-30 basis points to 2025 inflation."

* February's core personal consumption expenditures price index rose to 2.8% year-over-year from January's 2.7%, the Bloomberg consensus for February. Sequentially, the core measure rose to 0.4% from January's 0.3% gain, the pace estimated by analysts for February. Meanwhile, personal consumption expenditures rose 0.4% in February after declining 0.3% the month before, lagging the Bloomberg-polled consensus for a higher spending growth rate of 0.5%.

* "The subdued rise in spending in February confirms that real consumption growth is on track for sub-1% annualized growth in (the first quarter)," Oxford Economics Deputy Chief US Economist Michael Pearce said.

* Gold futures were up 0.8% to $3,113.42 late Friday, after making a fresh intraday all-time high of $3,124.40.

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