Wall Street ends higher after Zelensky, Trump | Australian Markets

Wall Road has ended larger after a uneven trading session, with Dell Applied sciences dipping and different tech shares climbing after a assembly between the US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky led to catastrophe.

Zelensky and Trump traded verbal blows on the White Home earlier than the world’s media on Friday. This created contemporary uncertainty over Ukraine’s battle with Russia for traders already apprehensive about sticky US inflation and a tepid economic system.

The S&P 500 moved decrease instantly after the conflict earlier than recovering and ending the day with a gain.

Zelensky left the White Home with out signing a much-vaunted deal between Ukraine and the US over the joint development of natural sources.

“The news, if you watched it live, it was pretty worrisome. It got heated, and Zelensky is considered an ally of the US,” mentioned Adam Sarhan, chief govt at 50 Park Investments.

“That’s why the market sold off, but then cooler heads prevailed. Zelensky either is going to make a deal or he’s not.”

Dell dropped 4.7 per cent after the PC maker forecast a decline in its adjusted gross margin price for fiscal 2026.

Peer HP Inc fell 6.8 per cent after its quarterly revenue forecasts missed expectations.

Nvidia and Tesla rose virtually 4 per cent every and lifted the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.59 per cent to finish the session at 5,954.50 factors.

The Nasdaq gained 1.63 per cent to 18,847.28 factors, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Common rose 1.39 per cent to 43,840.91 factors.

Quantity on US exchanges was heavy, with 17.5 billion shares traded, in comparison with an average of 15.4 billion shares over the earlier 20 classes.

All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by financials , up 2.1 per cent, adopted by a 1.8 per cent gain in shopper discretionary.

For the week, the S&P 500 fell about 1 per cent, the Nasdaq misplaced 3.5 per cent and the Dow climbed virtually 1 per cent.

The Nasdaq misplaced about 4 per cent for all of February, its deepest month-to-month loss since April 2024. The S&P 500 fell 1.45 per cent for the month and the Dow misplaced 1.6 per cent.

Earlier, a Commerce Division report confirmed inflation rose in January in keeping with expectations. Nevertheless, shopper spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economic system, dropped 0.2 per cent after an upwardly revised 0.8 per cent increase in December.

This might complicate the Federal Reserve’s deliberations on financial coverage.

“Spending came in lower than we were looking for… most of it I would attribute to a cooling economy, which presents a dilemma for the Fed in the sense that you still have inflation and you have an economy that is moving lower. If you add them together, that equals stagflation,” mentioned Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

Friday’s report is important for traders making an attempt to gauge the following transfer for the central bank after policymakers reiterated a hawkish stance. Buyers fear Trump’s insurance policies, particularly trade restrictions, might exacerbate US inflation.

“Tariff talk certainly is having a negative effect on the stock market, and it probably will keep a lid on stock market advances until there’s more clarity around that,” mentioned Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Analysis.

Merchants see the Fed decreasing borrowing prices twice by December, little modified from earlier than the report, in keeping with information compiled by LSEG. Buyers will assess feedback from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee later within the day.

The CBOE Volatility Index, also called Wall Road’s worry gauge, touched a one-month high and was final up at 21.26 factors.

Advancing points outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 7.1-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 39 new highs and 14 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 43 new highs and 332 new lows.