Stocks Falter as Oil Climbs, Fed Signals, and PCE Data Loom

As the clock struck 3:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average languished at 49,349, a 0.63% descent that would have made a Russian peasant weep for joy. The S&P 500 stumbled 0.41%, and the Nasdaq Composite followed suit with a 0.47% drop. The CBOE Volatility Index, ever the dramatic flair, rose 4% to 20.41, as if to say, “Behold, uncertainty reigns!”



