Market Opens Lower Amid Inflation Concerns

Wall Street kicked off Friday's trading session on a downward note following the release of the February personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. The data revealed that inflation remained steady at 2.5% year-over-year, mirroring January's figures. However, the core PCE inflation rate exceeded expectations at 2.8%, fueling skepticism about potential interest rate cuts in the near term.

Key Indexes and Stocks Performance

The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a slight decline of 0.19% by 9:30 am ET, with 3M Co. leading the drop at 0.30%. The Nasdaq 100 wasn't spared, falling by 0.45%, as Lululemon Athletica Inc. took a significant hit, plummeting 13.28%. Similarly, the S&P 500 decreased by 0.30%, with Aptiv PLC at the forefront of the downturn, shedding 0.37%.

Currency Market Snapshot

In the currency markets, the euro held steady against the dollar, trading at 1.08060 at 9:31 am ET, reflecting the cautious stance of investors amidst the inflation data release.