S&P 500 futures gain after in-line inflation data, but benchmark is headed for worst week of 2025 so far: Live updates

On Thursday, a Labor Department report revealed that jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 22 reached 242,000. This was up 22,000 from the previous week’s revised level and exceeding the Dow Jones Estimate for 225,000.

This also matched the highest level since early October. Although some may have attributed this higher reading to federal employee job cuts under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, JPMorgan told clients in a recent note that it doesn’t believe this to the case.

“While it’s possible that weather and seasonal noise contributed to the spike, the sharp move higher is somewhat concerning for the jobs picture,” economist Bennett Parrish said. “We do not think the latest increase was driven by job losses among government contractors and layoffs among federal employees are not captured by the headline figures.”

— Lisa Kailai Han

China on Friday opposed President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat, with its Ministry of Commerce saying: “If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.”

“We urge the U.S. side to not repeat its own mistakes, and to return as soon as possible to the right track of properly resolving conflicts through dialogue on equal footing,” a ministry spokesperson said, according to a CNBC translation.

— Anniek Bao, Evelyn Cheng

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued long sought after guidance Thursday evening saying it does not deem most meme coins securities under U.S. federal law; that they have “limited or no use or functionality” and are “more akin to collectibles.”

“A meme coin does not constitute any of the common financial instruments specifically enumerated in the definition of ‘security’ because, among other things, it does not generate a yield or convey rights to future income, profits, or assets of a business,” the statement said. “In other words, a meme coin is not itself a security.”

Dogecoin, the original meme coin and sixth largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rose 3%. The token tied to Solana, which has become the go-to host for meme coins – including the Official Trump meme coin – rose 2%.

Coinbase and Robinhood were up 1% each in after hours trading.

For more, read our full story here.

— Tanaya Macheel

The Nasdaq-100 index has fallen 7.33% since reaching an all-time high of 22,175.6 six days ago on Wednesday Feb. 19, the fastest decline of 5% or more since Septemner 2020, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

The Nasdaq-100 is made up of the 100 largest companies, adjusted for modified market capitalization, that trade on Nasdaq in the materials, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, healthcare, industrials, technology, telecommunications, and utilities industries.

— Scott Schnipper

With just Friday’s session left in the trading week and month, the major major indexes are on track for losses. Here’s where they stand:

These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading:

• Elastic — The data analytics stock soared 18% following a better-than-expected report for the fiscal third quarter.
• Redfin — The real estate technology stock sank 12% after posting a wider loss per share in the fourth quarter than analysts expected, per LSEG.
• Rocket Lab — The space stock dropped 7% on the back of soft guidance. 

Click here for the full list.

— Alex Harring