Markets Finish February In A Slough; Dow Suffers Steep Drop

This morning's hotter-than-expected inflation data from the producer price index (PPI) put a nail in the coffin of what has been an extremely volatile week for stocks. The Dow wrapped its worst weekly loss since Nov. 21 to go with its worst monthly performance since July. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 finished in the red for the day, week, and month, as AI worries and a grim Nvidia (NVDA) reaction haunted investor sentiment all week. Amidst this backdrop, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) logged its sixth weekly win in the last seven.

Crude, Gold Surge as Iran Talks Continue

U.S.-Iran nuclear talks were extended into next week, giving crude prices a boost to close out February. The commodity earlier hit a seven-month high after President Donald Trump said an attack is still on the table. March-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude added 2.8%, or $1.81, to settle at $67.02 per barrel on the day. For the week and month, oil rose 0.9% and 2.1%, respectively.

Also feeding off Iran-U.S. tensions, gold jumped to a one-month high. April-dated gold futures rose 1.1% to settle at $5,254 an ounce on the day. For the week and month the safe haven added 2.7% and 7.4%, respectively.