US stocks ended February on a weak note with all three major indices recording declines.
Following a string of strong performances in January, stocks suffered again in February as stronger economic data returned the view that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will continue to raise interest rates.
In the final day of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial closed lower at 32,656 after falling 0.71%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.3% to 3,970.16 and the Nasdaq was down 0.13% at 12,042.12.
For the month, the S&P 500 declined 2.61%, the Dow lost 4.19% and the Nasdaq lost 1.11%.
The Dow Jones continued to trade lower as weak performances by Goldman Sachs, Merck and UnitedHealth Group weighed on the index.
At the time of writing, the US30 index was little changed with the price hovering around 32,643.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms rose more than 3% following the company's announcement to create a new top-tier product group focused on generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Target Corp rose 1.01% following its earnings report which showed a sharp rise in quarterly sales.
Even so, it warned that earnings in 2023 were expected to be dismal due to the uncertain US economy.
