US Equity Markets Close Lower After Higher-Than-Expected Producer Price Data

04:14 PM EST, 02/27/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were down Friday following a higher-than-expected producer price report and continued pressure on technology stocks.

* The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday the US Producer Price Index rose by 0.5% in January following a 0.4% increase in December, and higher than the 0.3% gain expected in a Bloomberg survey. After excluding the more volatile food and energy prices, core PPI rose by 0.8%, more than the 0.3% anticipated gain.

* Tech stocks were lower Friday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) falling 1.7% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) dropping 1.6%.

* April West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $2.11 to settle at $65.42 per barrel, while April Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.02 at $70.87.

* Dell (DELL) shares were up roughly 22% after the company late Thursday reported fiscal Q4 results above market estimates amid a surge in orders for AI-optimized servers.

* Market Financial Solutions, the UK mortgage firm backed by Barclays (BCS) , Apollo Global Management's (APO) Atlas SP Partners, Jefferies Financial (JEF) and others, may have a 930-million-pound sterling ($1.3 billion) collateral shortfall for its loans, Bloomberg reported, citing documents from Zircon Bridging and Amber Bridging it obtained. Barclays (BCS) shares fell about 4%, Apollo dropped nearly 8.6%, and Jefferies decreased over 9.3%.

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