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U.S. equity futures moved higher in early Friday trading, while the dollar jumped to multiweek highs and Treasury yields retreated, as global markets reacted to President Donald Trump's renewed tariff threats while American markets looked to claw back losses from yesterday's selloff.
Updated at 8:47 AM EST
Spending slump
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge eased modestly last month, data indicated Friday, but personal spending figures showed one of the biggest pullbacks in three years, suggesting further weakness in the domestic economy.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis's PCE Price Index report for the month of January showed core prices rising at an annual rate of 2.6%, down the December reading of 2.9% and matching Wall Street's consensus forecast.
The BEA also noted that personal incomes for January rose 0.9%, more than doubled Wall Street's estimate and the 0.3% forecast, while spending slumped 0.2% compared with the 0.7% advance in the prior month.
U.S. stocks were little changed following the data release, with futures indicating a 20-point opening bell gain for the S&P 500 and a 235-point advance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The tech-focused Nasdaq is called 30 points higher.
Benchmark 10-year note yields were 2 basis points higher at 4.275% following the data release, while 2-year notes rose 2 basis point to 4.069%.
Stock Market Today
Last night the S&P 500 fell into negative territory for the year as markets slumped in the wake of disappointing economic data and a retreat in risk assets. The market move followed the president's confirmation that tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, as well as added duties on imports from China, would come into effect on March 4.
The tariff strategy, paired with the ongoing overhaul of the federal workforce and weakening metrics in the world's biggest economy, is weighing on risk markets heading into the final day of February trading. Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields fell to 4.244%, the lowest since December.
Bitcoin prices, seen as a proxy for Trump's post-election support, fell another 5.8% in overnight trading and were last marked at just under $80,000, pegging its peak-to-trough decline at around 25%.