Dow tumbles 300 points after weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment, UnitedHealth decline: Live updates

The manufacturing grew at a slower-than-expected pace this month, while services unexpectedly contracted, according to data from S&P Global.

The firm’s manufacturing purchasing managers index came in at 51.6, below the Dow Jones estimate 51.6. The services PMI, meanwhile, fell to 49.7 — its lowest level in more than two years — while economists had forecast a print of 52.8.

“Optimism about the coming year slumped to its lowest since December 2022, except for last September, when business was unsettled by uncertainty ahead of the Presidential election. The deterioration in February was primarily a reflection of increased uncertainty about the business environment, especially in relation to federal government policies related to domestic spending cuts and tariffs,” S&P Global said.

— Fred Imbert

Shares of Coinbase rose 3% in early trading after the company said the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to drop an enforcement action against the company, pending commissioner approval.

The announcement comes as the SEC under the Trump administration is expected to take a more friendly approach to crypto than the previous leadership.

“I hope that they’ll dismiss all the bogus cases, frankly, and it will be a domino effect for the rest of the industry,” Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong said CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

— Jesse Pound

The S&P 500 opened slightly lower on Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was under pressure due to a sharp pullback in UnitedHealth stock.

The broad market index lost 0.07%. The 30-stock Dow pulled back 232 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.

— Brian Evans

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.

Celsius Holdings — The energy drink maker skyrocketed more than 31% after surpassing expectations for fourth-quarter earnings and entering an agreement to acquire Alani Nutrition in a cash and stock deal. Celsius earned an adjusted 14 cents per share on $332 million in revenue, while analysts polled by LSEG penciled in 11 cents per share and $326 million, respectively.

Dropbox — Shares of the cloud software company fell more than 9% on mixed quarterly results. Block reported a non-GAAP gross margin of 83.1% in the fourth quarter, in line with analysts’ expectations, per StreetAccount. To be sure, the company’s adjusted earnings and revenue in the period topped consensus forecasts.

Block — Shares tumbled 8.8% after Block reported a top- and bottom-line miss in the fourth quarter. The fintech company posted adjusted earnings of 71 cents per share on $6.03 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG expected earnings of 87 cents per share on revenue of $6.29 billion.

— Hakyung Kim

CrowdStrike could see major gains ahead, according to Barclays.

Shares of the cybersecurity company gained 0.5% in the premarket Friday after the firm hiked its price target to $506 from $372 heading into the company’s scheduled earnings release on March 4. Its updated target implies 16% upside from Thursday’s close.

“We are modeling 4Q net new [annual recurring revenue] of ~$190M,” analyst Saket Kalia wrote to clients. “We think the upside scenario could be $210-215M based on strong checks, several large federal deals and traction with Falcon Flex.”

The stock has outperformed the broader market already this year, advancing more than 27% compared to the S&P 500’s year-to-date gain of 4%. Shares have also risen more than 49% over the past 12 months.

— Sean Conlon

Omar Marques | Lightrocket | Getty Images

UnitedHealth shares sank around 8% before the bell on Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the insurer is under investigation by the Justice Department.

The investigation centers on Medicare billing practices, sources familiar with the matter told the Journal. It’s looking at UnitedHealth’s protocol for recording diagnoses that can lead to extra payments on Medicare Advantage plans, according to the report.

— Alex Harring

Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, thinks investors shouldn’t run away from stocks after Thursday’s Walmart-led decline.

Instead, they should “embrace the broadening theme and position for money to continue shifting away from the handful of mega-caps that dominated the market for so long (i.e. bias the equal-weight S&P and small/mid-caps over the cap-weighted S&P and Nasdaq).”

To be sure, risks remain for Wall Street, he said.

“Our main concern (in addition to rich valuations) is still Washington, where myriad risks loom on the horizon (shutdown, tariffs, the debt ceiling, the reconciliation process, etc.) – even if one takes the most generous view (“it’s all just a negotiating tactic”), weeks of extreme uncertainty will bleed into the real economy by freezing activity and decision making (the “it’s just a negotiating tactic” though does have some credence,” said Crisafulli.

— Fred Imbert

Bearishness toward the outlook for stocks over the next six months dropped to 40.5% of those polled in the latest weekly American Association of Individual Investors survey, down from about a 15-month high of 47.3% last week.

Pessimism remained above the historic average of 31.0% for a fourth straight week.

Optimism remained muted again, too, with bullishness coming in at 29.2% of respondents, up a hair from 28.4% last week, but below the historical average of 37.5% for a third straight week. The remainder were neutral about the outlook for stocks.

Contrarian investors take above-average bearishness and below-average bullishness as good signs for the market, meaning that more investors have finished their selling and more idle cash remains on the sidelines waiting to move into stocks.

— Scott Schnipper

Palantir headquarters in Palo Alto, California, on May 10, 2023.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Palantir’s recent pullback may provide an opportunity for investors, according to Sylvia Jablonski, CEO of Defiance ETFs.

The defense stock slid more than 5% during Thursday’s regular session and nearly 2% in extended trading Thursday, adding to its 10% loss in Wednesday’s session. Those moves come on the back of Palantir CEO Alex Karp pursuing a new stock trading plan.

“I think that this is short-term news, right? I think the sale is just that he’s overconcentrated in one stock that has made him incredibly wealthy and others incredibly wealthy, and they’re diversifying,” Jablonski said during “Three-Stock Lunch” on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to trim the U.S. defense budget. While this helped drive the stock lower over the past two trading days, shares have still soared more than 354% over the past 12 months.

“They’re the premier [artificial intelligence] defense company,” Jablonski continued. “I think that any dip for Palantir is a dip for me. I’m a buyer here.”

— Sean Conlon

Cans of Celsuis Arctic Vibe Sparkling Frozen Berry energy drink on display during Celsuis Arctic Vibe Launch Party at Joia Beach Club on July 21, 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida.

Aaron Davidson | Getty Images

These are the stocks moving the most in extended hours trading:

• Celsius Holdings — The energy drink company surged 28% in extended trading. Celsius posted adjusted earnings of 14 cents per share on revenue of $332 million in the fourth quarter, topping analysts’ expectations for 11 cents in earnings per share and $326 million in revenue, per LSEG.
• Dropbox — Shares slipped nearly 6%. The cloud storage company said its non-GAAP gross margin came in at 83.1% in the fourth quarter, in line with analysts’ expectations, per StreetAccount.
• Block — The fintech stock dipped 6% after Block reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 71 cents per share on $6.03 billion in revenue.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stock futures traded near flat Thursday.

Futures tied to all the major averages were hovering around the flatline shortly after 6 p.m. ET.

— Lisa Kailai Han