Nasdaq, S&P 500 Fall After Hot PPI Report; Both Indexes Log Monthly Declines

04:57 PM EST, 02/27/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 suffered back-to-back declines on Friday following a hot producer prices report, while both benchmarks logged their steepest monthly declines in almost a year.

The Nasdaq fell 0.9% to close at 22,668.2, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.4% to 6,878.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.1% lower at 48,977.9. Barring technology and financials, all sectors were in the green, led by health care.

In economic news, US producer prices rose at the fastest pace in four months in January as growth in the services index hit the highest since July, government data showed.

"A sizable upswing in producer prices underscores the (Federal Reserve's) unfinished battle with inflation, and furthermore, the flaws in the (Federal Open Market Committee's) longstanding passive and light-handed approach," Stifel said in a note to clients.

This month, the Nasdaq dropped 3.4%, while the S&P 500 shed 0.9% -- both marking their biggest monthly losses since March. The Dow gained 0.2%. All three key indexes posted weekly declines.

"Equity markets had another choppy week, desperately trying to figure out what the AI buildout actually means for the economy and the market going forward," BMO Capital Markets Senior Economist Robert Kavcic said in a note.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 3.1% at $67.22 a barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade.

The latest round of negotiations between the US and Iran failed to result in a deal, with further talks scheduled ahead, ING Bank said in a report.

"We are moving dangerously close towards President (Donald) Trump's deadline for a deal," the firm said. "The market is pricing in a large risk premium due to this uncertainty; we believe as much as ($10 a barrel)."

Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies are expected to resume output increases in April on Sunday following a three-month pause, analysts said.

US Treasury yields were lower, with the 10-year rate last down five basis points at 3.96% and the two-year rate falling 4.9 basis points to 3.39%.

In company news, OpenAI said it secured $110 billion in new funding, including investments from tech heavyweights Nvidia (NVDA) and Amazon.com (AMZN) , as the ChatGPT parent aims to expand its infrastructure amid rising demand for artificial intelligence.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares slumped 4.2%, among the third-biggest drop on the Dow, while Amazon (AMZN) rose 1%.

Dell Technologies (DELL) shares surged about 22%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The company's fiscal 2027 outlook was surprisingly strong amid a shortage of memory chips and the expected impact of price increases, BofA Securities said in a note e-mailed Friday. The brokerage raised its price objective on the Dell stock to $155 from $135, while reiterating its buy rating.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) shares jumped nearly 21%, the second top gainer on the S&P 500, while Netflix (NFLX) surged almost 14%, among the best performers on the index.

Late Thursday, Netflix (NFLX) said it abandoned its plan to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) , handing the deal to Paramount, but still walking away with a $2.8 billion breakup fee.

Warner Bros. shares fell 2.2%.

Gold was last up 1.7% at $5,279.70 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 7.6% to $94.28 per ounce.

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