LIVE MARKETS-Wall Street bounces after Zelenskiy-Trump clash

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WALL STREET BOUNCES AFTER ZELENSKIY-TRUMP CLASH

Wall Street shares ended higher on Friday in volatile trading, recovering after a brief decline following a verbal tussle between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy lamented the fact that the change of administration in Washington has undermined Kyiv's attempts to maintain Western support for its war effort. Trump, on the other, felt disrespected by the Ukrainian leader with his rhetoric and demeanor.

The clash between the two leaders created yet another layer of uncertainty for the stock market already fearful about persistent inflation.

"Sentiment is in a place now where the reaction function is decidedly negative--likely negative enough to not move much from here. Apart from the theatrics, not much changed today from a market standpoint," says Jamie Cox, managing partner, at Harris Financial Group in Richmond.

"The good news is that Trump didn't walk away from the deal completely. At this point, markets will rocket higher if a deal gets struck because anything constructive would be welcomed after that exchange."

Earlier in the session, stocks rose modestly after a Commerce Department report showed inflation rose in line with expectations in the previous month, but showed a bit of stickiness. In addition, consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, dropped 0.2% after an upwardly revised 0.8% increase in December.

The report reinforced expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates at least twice this year.

Here is the closing market snapshot:

(Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Saeed Azhar)

FOR FRIDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

MORE VOLATILITY BEFORE THE CLOUDS PART - CLICK HERE

DOGE TO HAVE LIMITED IMPACT ON FEBRUARY PAYROLLS - CLICK HERE

WITH RISKS STILL SKEWED TO THE DOWNSIDE, STIFEL PREFERS TO PLAY DEFENSE - CLICK HERE

A CHINESE SLOWDOWN COULD DISRUPT EUROPEAN EQUITIES' DOMINANCE LATER THIS YEAR, BOFA SAYS - CLICK HERE

FRIDAY DATA BARRAGE: PCE, CHICAGO PMI, TRADE BALANCE, INVENTORIES - CLICK HERE

WALL STREET RISES IN CHOPPY TRADING AFTER IN-LINE INFLATION DATA - CLICK HERE

INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR BULLS AND BEARS SEE SOME EYE POPPING MOVES - AAII - CLICK HERE

EUROPE'S DEFENCE SECTOR SET FOR BIGGEST WEEKLY JUMP SINCE 2020 - CLICK HERE

EQUITY BUBBLE RISK ALIVE AND JUSTIFIABLE, BUT WE'RE NOT IN ONE - UBS - CLICK HERE

TAIWAN, EUROPE, CANADA MOST EXPOSED STOCK MARKETS TO U.S. TARIFFS - CLICK HERE

TARIFF JITTERS KEEP STOXX SUBDUED DESPITE ROSY EARNINGS - CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: TARIFF FEARS BATTER FUTURES - CLICK HERE

NO PLACE TO HIDE FROM TRUMP TARIFF WORRIES - CLICK HERE