A person browses a grocery store following the announcement of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 4, 2025.
- Stocks are clinging to weekly gains after another losing session.
- The monthly personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) report is out Friday.
- CoreWeave, a company that provides access to graphics processing units from Nvidia for AI uses, debuts on the Nasdaq Friday.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Clinging to gains
Stocks are clinging to weekly gains after another losing session on Thursday. With one trading day left in the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.75% over the period, the S&P 500 is up 0.45% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.11% . New tariffs on auto imports hurt markets earlier this week, with more new levies set to take effect next week. "I don't expect that market volatility is going to calm until we have more policy [certainty]. And a lot of us are looking to see if we get that next week," said Lauren Goodwin, New York Life Investments' chief market strategist. "I'm not really seeing it. I anticipate that this volatility is here to stay with us." Follow live market updates.
2. Dented
Auto stocks fell on Thursday in the face of new tariffs. General Motors took the biggest hit, losing 7% after President Donald Trump announced 25% duties on "all cars that are not made in the United States." Ford Motor and Stellantis also lost ground, falling roughly 4% and 1%, respectively. Tesla, deemed Wall Street's winner in the shuffle, ended the day barely positive after trading up as much as 7% earlier in the session. Ferrari, which said it would increase prices on some models of its sports car, gained 3%.
Money Report
3. Ta-da, data!
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Friday mornings often mean new economic data. This time it's the monthly personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) from the Commerce Department. The report came in hotter than expected, with core inflation in February hitting 2.8%, an increase of 0.4% for the month. Consumer spending for the month rose 0.4%, less than the 0.5% growth that economists had expected, even as personal income rose more than expected.
4. Lull-ulemon
Inflation and economic concerns are hamstringing spending at Lululemon. The athletic apparel maker's CEO, Calvin McDonald, said a survey of its customers earlier this month found that people are spending less due to macro worries. That's resulted in lower traffic to U.S. stores, and Lululemon said it expected slower sales for the rest of the year. The stock fell more than 12% in extended trading.
5. AIPO
CoreWeave, a company that provides access to graphics processing units from Nvidia for AI uses, is debuting on the public markets Friday. The firm priced its shares at $40 apiece, below the expected range in a downsized sale, raising $1.5 billion and valuing the company at about $19 billion. The offering is the biggest from a U.S. tech company since 2021. CoreWeave shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "CRWV."
– CNBC's Sarah Min, Michele Luhn, Alex Harring, Russell Leung, Leslie Picker and Jordan Novet contributed to this report.
