Dow Jones ends 700 points lower amid renewed inflation fears

US stock indices deepened their losses as data showed that the inflation favored by the Federal Reserve rose at the highest pace since January 2025, amid plummeting consumer confidence on weak expectations for unemployment and inflation. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.7%, or 715 points, to 41,583, posting a weekly loss of 0.95%.

The S&P dropped nearly 1.95%, or 112 points, to end at 5,580 points. The index shed 1.55% this week.

The Nasdaq fell 2.7%, or 481 points, to 17,322, losing 2.6% this week.

The STOXX Europe 600 edged down 0.75% to 542.1 points, and posted weekly losses of 1.4%.

The FTSE 100 inched down 0.1% to 8,658 points. The CAC 40 eased 0.95% to 7,916 points. The DAX 40 also fell by the same percentage to close at 22,461 points.  

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shed 1.8% to 37,120 points. TOPIX lost more than 2% to 2,757 points. Both indices recorded weekly losses of 1.5% and 1.65%, respectively.

Brent crude futures for May delivery settled 0.55%, or 40 cents, lower at $73.63 a barrel, but gained over 2% for the week.

WTI crude futures for May delivery declined 0.8%, or 56 cents, to $69.36 a barrel, though it rose 1.6% for the week.

On gold, futures for June delivery added 0.75%, or $23.4, to reach a record of $3,114.3 per ounce. The yellow metal recorded a weekly rise of 2.15%.

Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose 0.4% in February from 0.3% in January, bringing the annual inflation rate to 2.8%, both exceeding forecasts of 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively.