S&P 500 surges more than 1% Friday to end stormy February as investors look past Trump-Zelenskyy clash

Stocks managed to rise Friday to wrap up a volatile week and a losing month for the major averages. Friday’s trading session saw a brief pullback after President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed in the Oval Office, which raised concerns about heightened geopolitical risks. The S&P 500 added 1.59% on Friday to close at 5,954.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 601.41 points, or 1.39%, closing at 43,840.91. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.63% to settle at 18,847.28. Stocks rallied sharply into Friday’s close. Part of that could have been related to index rebalancing and other technical-buying sources. There was a heavy imbalance to the buy side of market-on-close orders at the New York Stock Exchange. Month to date, the Nasdaq led the way down, sliding nearly 4% in February due largely to a 3.5% drop this week. This was the tech-heavy index’s worst month since April 2024. The S&P 500 declined roughly 1% for the week and 1.4% in February. Meanwhile, the Dow has managed to outperform, rising about 1% in the week. Month to date, however, the 30-stock index has dropped 1.6%. The major benchmarks turned negative for a short period on Friday after Trump, along with Vice President JD Vance, argued with Zelenskyy during an extraordinary moment in front of the media at the White House. The leaders met Friday regarding a possible Ukraine mineral rights deal for the U.S., which investors hoped would be a precursor to eventually bringing about an end to the war with Russia. “You either make a deal or we’re out,” said Trump at one point to Zelenskyy. “You’re gambling with World War III.” Trump then posted on Truth Social that Zelenskyy “is not ready for peace if America is involved.” “He can come back when he is ready for peace,” added the president, who promised a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine war during his campaign. The Cboe Volatility Index, a gauge of fear on Wall Street, spiked as the leaders traded barbs. The index jumped to 22.40 at one point, its highest level since Jan. 27. “I’m disturbed by what I just saw,” said investor Jim Lebenthal of Cerity Partners on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” “If the policies in foreign affairs are now to empower Russia and Vladimir Putin, I don’t think that’s good for the stock market. I don’t think that’s good for the global economy. I find it hard to make a case otherwise,” Lebenthal added. Larry Tentarelli, founder and CEO of the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, added that “This is still a very news-driven market and any hints of escalation, or no resolution with Russia [and] Ukraine, should be expected to add to volatility, in an already volatile week.” “From a markets perspectives, I would expect these higher volatility newsbytes at any time, until resolved,” Tentarelli said. Investors have also been rattled in recent days by Trump’s promise of tariffs, along with recent economic reports flashing warning signs. A decline of 8.5% in megacap tech titan Nvidia in Thursday’s session following its quarterly earnings report threw more cold water on investor sentiment. On Friday, the Atlanta Fed’s GDP Now measure, which tracks economic data in real time and adjusts continuously, adjusted to forecast first-quarter output falling 1.5%.wa