Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index (SP500) on Friday posted weekly losses of more than 3%, its worst weekly performance since early September 2024.

Tariff uncertainties and mixed economic data slammed sentiment this week. U.S. President Donald Trump’s back-and-forth over tariffs against Canada and Mexico has stoked confusion in traders.

Markets have now given up all the gains sparked by Trump’s election victory in November last year.

In terms of economic data, tariff impacts showed up significantly in January’s trade numbers. A huge spike in imports ahead of tariff implementation resulted in the trade deficit hitting a record.

The spotlight was grabbed by Friday’s February nonfarm payrolls report. Job growth in the month was less than expected, as federal employment took a hit from Trump and Elon Musk’s push for efficiency.

Friday did see some respite in the form of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reassuring in a speech that the U.S. economy continued to “be in a good place.”

For the week, the S&P (SP500) slipped -3.1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) slumped -3.5%. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell -2.4%. Read a preview of next week’s major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.

Seeking Alpha's Calls Of The Week

Weekly Movement

Dow -2.4% to 42,802. S&P 500 -3.1% to 5,770. Nasdaq -3.5% to 18,196. Russell 2000 -4.1% to 2,075. CBOE Volatility Index +19.1% to 23.37.

Consumer Staples -1.5%. Utilities -2.4%. Financials -5.9%. Telecom -2%. Healthcare +0.2%. Industrials -1.6%. Information Technology -3.4%. Materials -1.2%. Energy -3.8%. Consumer Discretionary -5.4%. Real Estate -1.7%.

London -1.5% to 8,680. France +0.1% to 8,121. Germany +2% to 23,009. Japan -0.8% to 36,864. China +1.6% to 3,373. Hong Kong +5.6% to 24,231. India +1.6% to 74,333.

Crude Oil WTI -3.9% to $67.04/bbl. Gold +2.3% to $2,914.1/oz. Natural Gas +14.7% to 4.399. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 4.304.

EUR/USD +4.4%. USD/JPY -1.71%. GBP/USD +2.73%. Bitcoin +0.4%. Litecoin -15.4%. Ethereum -3.5%. XRP +7.9%.

Moderna (MRNA) +15%. FMC (FMC) +12%. Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) +12%. Brown-Forman (BF.B) +12%. Dollar General (DG) +10%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) -20%. NRG Energy (NRG) -17%. Constellation Energy (CEG) -15%. KKR & Co. (KKR) -15%. Western Digital (WDC) -15%.

Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section.