WallSt Focus

U.S. stocks opened the final week of February on shaky footing, with major indexes falling after President Trump announced a new 15% across-the-board tariff on imports.

U.S. consumer confidence showed little improvement in February, underscoring the persistent impact of inflation on household finances.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest slide has fueled the question: Is this a buying opportunity or a warning sign? After reaching record highs near $126,000 last fall, the cryptocurrency has taken a steep dive, recently trading in the mid-$60,000 range.

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump overstepped his authority in imposing sweeping 2025 “Liberation Day” tariffs under emergency powers, injecting fresh optimism into markets that had been weighed down by trade uncertainty.

U.S. stocks traded lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each slipping about 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling closer to 0.4%.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) long-anticipated mainstream moment was supposed to change everything. The launch of US spot exchange-traded funds, deeper integration with traditional finance, and a wave of institutional capital helped push the cryptocurrency to a record above $126,000 last October.

US stocks edged higher on Wednesday as investors cautiously stepped back into equities, encouraged by signs that last week’s AI-driven panic may be stabilizing.