IXIC: Nasdaq Composite Slides 0.5% Ahead of Key PCE Report. Here’s What to Watch for.

Tech heavy index wasn’t successful in its attempts to log a win. Instead, traders kept selling stocks for the second day in a row.

📉 Nasdaq Dives in Second Straight Day

• The Nasdaq Composite index IXIC extended its slide for a second consecutive day on Thursday with antsy traders offloading their tech-heavy portfolios ahead of today’s big data dump. It’s PCE day — the monthly reading of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. Here’s what you should be looking at.
• The core personal consumption expenditures index is embraced by the Fed for its ability to gauge inflation trends by stripping out more volatile items like food and energy costs (so no egg inflation this time).

👀 What to Watch for Today

• For February, the annual growth pace of the core PCE is expected to hit 2.7%, up from January’s 2.6% clip. On a monthly basis, Wall Street is eyeballing the printout to stay sideways at 0.3%, unchanged from a month ago. Depending on the actual figure, markets may get jittery as that one is closely watched by Jay Powell.
• The Fed boss has to deal with Trump’s tariffs that threaten to derail economic growth and lead to a spike in consumer prices. A high PCE reading could muddle prospects for more cuts to interest rates (which are now on pause due to tariff uncertainty).

🚨 What to Look Ahead for

• Besides rate cuts now in a holding pattern, stocks have also been showing signs of fatigue. Quiet but weak trading has defined the last few cash sessions with even quieter futures trading. But all that’s about to change as we enter the second quarter with a bang. Or many bangs.
• April 2 is D-Day when markets find out Trump’s plans for widespread reciprocal tariffs. So brace for sharp market moves. In stocks, the first-quarter earnings season kicks off in mid-April, promising to inject fresh volatility for fresh trading opportunities.