U.S. stocks experienced a decline on Monday, continuing the downward trend from the previous week as investors anticipated the release of key inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all saw modest losses of around 0.2%. Notable declines were observed in tech stocks, particularly those focused on artificial intelligence, with Nvidia dropping almost 1% and Super Micro Computer falling over 8%. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, also faced a significant setback, dropping more than 5%.
Investors are preparing for the upcoming consumer and producer price indexes for February, which are due to be released on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. These reports are crucial as they are among the last major economic indicators before the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting. The recent jobs report for February presented mixed signals regarding the Fed's interest rate policy, showing strong job additions but also a higher unemployment rate and weaker wage growth, which could indicate a potential easing of monetary policy in the near future.