US stocks rallied to close out the best February for the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ and Nasdaq Composite $NASDAQ(.IXIC)$ in nearly a decade as investors digested a crucial inflation reading.
Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 had their best February's since 2015.
As a result, several tickers also ended the month on record highs. $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ $Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG)$ $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$ $JPMorgan Chase(JPM)$ $Lennar(LEN)$ $Cardinal Health(CAH)$ $NXP Semiconductors NV(NXPI)$ $Tractor Supply(TSCO)$
According to Carson, a higher January and February could mean the bull continues.
An inflation measure closely watched by the Fed continued cooling last month, matching Wall Street's expectations.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index grew 2.4% year-over-year in January, a decline from last month's 2.6% print.
"Core" PCE, the measure most often mentioned by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, came in at 2.8%, down from 2.9% in the month prior.
The looming release of the PCE index data — the Fed's preferred measure of inflation — had weighed on stocks all week. Policymakers have repeatedly stressed they want to see more signs of price pressures easing before committing to rate cuts.
$NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ If this recent .618 extension breakout is like the others, this would put $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$ around $970 by mid-April.
Jake Wujastyk
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