Trump Says Inflation Is 'Way Down' After It Cools To 2.4%—Calls Markets 'Way Up' Despite Choppy Early 2026 Action

President Donald Trump celebrated Presidents' Day by touting a cooling system and record-low crime, adjacent arsenic fiscal markets amusement a stark disagreement betwixt blue-chip gains and a struggling tech sector.

In a societal media station aboriginal Monday, Trump declared that “Prices and Inflation are Way Down,” a assertion supported by the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The yearly ostentation complaint slowed to 2.4% successful January 2026, dropping from 2.7% successful December. This speechmaking came successful beneath the economist’s expectations of 2.5%, marking the lowest ostentation people since May 2025.

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While the President celebrated the decline, the interior information shows a analyzable picture. Energy costs provided relief, with gasoline prices falling 3.2% implicit the month.

However, consumers are inactive feeling the pinch successful different areas: hose fares surged by 6.5%, and structure costs—a large operator of the monthly increase—rose different 0.2%.

The President besides cheered the authorities of idiosyncratic savings, stating, “The Stock Market, and your 401k's, are Way Up.”

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average supports this optimism with a 2.31% summation year-to-date, the broader marketplace has faced a choppy commencement to 2026.

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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has struggled significantly, falling 2.97% truthful acold this year, portion the S&P 500 remains down 0.33%.

On Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which way the S&P 500 scale and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, closed higher. The SPY was up 0.07% astatine $681.75, portion the QQQ declined 0.21% to $601.92.

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Beyond the economy, Trump painted a representation of a federation successful a historical “Golden Age” of safety.

He claimed that “Murders (YEAR 1900!) and Crime are astatine RECORD LOWS,” and asserted that the “Border is 100% Secure.”

Recent reports from the Council connected Criminal Justice and AH Datalytics align with the transgression narrative, showing a astir 20% driblet successful homicides crossed large cities, with rates reaching levels not seen successful implicit a century.