US stock markets end mostly lower

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stock markets ended mostly lower Monday.

Concerns that President Donald Trump's economic and trade policies may increase inflationary pressures and policy uncertainties continued.

The stock prices of major tech companies came under pressure, with Palantir down 10.5%, Nvidia falling 3.1% and Microsoft sliding 1% amid concerns over the artificial intelligence trade.

On the macroeconomic data side, the US economy grew by 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024, below expectations.

The US economy added 143,000 jobs in January, much less than market estimates of 169,000, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4% in January.

The Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which includes manufacturing and services sectors, fell 2.3 points on a monthly basis to 50.4 and recorded its lowest level in 17 months.

Data released by the University of Michigan showed that consumer confidence fell with tariff concerns. The consumer confidence index was revised downward to 64.7 in February.

Consumers' short-term inflation expectations for the coming year jumped from 3.3% to 4.3% in February, the highest since November 2023, and long-term also rose from 3.2% to 3.5% -- the largest monthly increase since May 2021.

The S&P 500 fell 0.50%, or 29.88 points, to 5,983.25, while the Nasdaq Composite dove 1.21%, or 237.08 points, to 19,286.93.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.076%, or 33.19 points, to end the day at 43,461.21.