US stocks opened lower on Friday as investors assessed the latest inflation data and anticipated reciprocal tariffs expected to be announced next week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.2%, while the benchmark S&P 500 (GSPC) dropped 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) decreased 0.5%.
The latest Personal Consumption Expenditures index showed prices increased more than expected last month, rising 0.4% month over month and 2.8% year over year, continuing a stubborn plateau on the path to the Fed’s target.
Investors also digested President Trump’s auto tariff announcement this week, ahead of reciprocal levies on countries expected on April 2.
Meanwhile, gold futures (GC=F) rose to a fresh record past $3,100 as investors flocked to the safe haven asset on the heels of the hotter-than-expected inflation data and an escalating trade war.
