Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Retreat from Record Highs

The U.S. stock market slipped on Friday, August 29, 2025, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 pulled back from their latest record highs.

Fresh inflation data and disappointing outlooks from major technology companies weighed on investor sentiment, sending Wall Street lower after a strong summer rally.

Indices at a Glance

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 200 points, or around 0.5%.

• The S&P 500 dropped nearly 0.5%, giving up some of the gains that had pushed it to all-time highs earlier this week.

• The Nasdaq Composite led the declines, slipping almost 0.9% as chipmakers and big tech names lost ground.

What’s Driving the Market

The retreat followed the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.

The report showed prices rising 2.6% year-over-year in July, with core inflation ticking up to 2.9%, the highest level since February.

The data sparked uncertainty over how quickly the Fed may move on interest rate cuts, even though markets still largely expect a policy shift in September.

Tech Under Pressure

Technology stocks bore the brunt of the selling:

• Dell Technologies sank nearly 10% after issuing a cautious outlook despite strong quarterly results.

• Marvell Technology plunged around 17% on weak sales forecasts.

• Nvidia, one of this year’s top-performing stocks, dropped almost 3% amid concerns over slowing demand in China.

Pockets of Strength

Not all sectors were in decline. Autodesk surged over 11% after beating earnings expectations, while Alibaba jumped more than 11% following robust results and the launch of a new AI chip.

Outlook

While Friday’s losses pulled major indexes off record highs, analysts note that the broader uptrend remains intact.

Investors will now turn their attention to next week’s labor market reports and the Fed’s September meeting for clearer signals on monetary policy.

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