The S&P 500 index rose 1.1% last week, led by communication services, as investors digested changes to US tariff policy amid a Supreme Court ruling.
The weekly gain – which came in just four sessions as the market was closed on Monday for Presidents Day – wasn’t enough to move the market benchmark into positive territory for the month. The S&P 500 is down 0.4% for February but up 0.9% for the year.
President Trump said on Friday he will sign an order imposing additional 10% global tariffs, under Section 122, after the Supreme Court invalidated his reciprocal tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
“We are also initiating several Section 301 and other investigations to protect our country from unfair trading practices,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
The developments came as official data showed economic growth was well below Wall Street’s expectations in the final three months of 2025 as federal spending contracted due to the longest-ever government shutdown. Real gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 1.4% in the December quarter, the slowest pace in three quarters; the consensus estimate was for 2.8% growth, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
A delayed release of economic data also showed consumer spending growth unexpectedly held steady in December, while the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric accelerated more than Wall Street’s estimates to 3% year over year.
Communication services had the largest percentage increase of the week, climbing 2.3%, followed by gains of 1.7% each in consumer discretionary and industrials. Financials and technology added 1.5% each. Energy and real estate also eked out small gains.
On the downside, consumer staples fell 2.3%, followed by a 0.6% decline in health care and a 0.5% loss in utilities. Materials also edged lower.
This week’s earnings calendar features Home Depot (HD), NVIDIA (NVDA), TJX (TJX), Salesforce (CRM), Lowe’s (LOW) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B), among others.
Economic data will include February consumer confidence and a delayed report on the January producer price index.
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