Stock market news live updates: Stocks edge lower amid renewed concerns over Russia-Ukraine crisis
U.S. stocks extended losses early Thursday as geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine persisted. Investors also continued to weigh new insight on the Federal Reserve’s plans to tighten monetary policy, a higher-than-expected fresh read on weekly unemployment data, and another onslaught of corporate earnings.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.72% to 4,442.94, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.66% to 34,702.72. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.88% to 14,000.31. In the previous session, Wall Street’s main indexes rebounded from steep losses after the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes came in clear of any mention the central bank would authorize a 50 basis point rate hike in March.
Traders face a fresh headwind from geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Fears that the Kremlin would green light a move to force in on its neighboring country have mounted in recent weeks to build on existing worries around central bank policy tightening due to the potential of military action to exacerbate inflation and spur other economic disruptions.
“Markets continue to watch events in Ukraine, cycling back and forth between risk-on with the lessening of tensions and risk-off as tensions increase,” Independent Advisor Alliance Chief Investment Officer Chris Zaccarelli said in a note. “This morning markets are concerned about the Russian troop buildup and a lack of trust in Putin’s declaration that they are beginning to remove troops from the region.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine was “very high” and “every indication [the White House had] is that [Russia is] prepared to go into Ukraine.”
Markets rose Tuesday on false reports Russia withdrew some troops from the Ukrainian border, but fears of imminent military action have since been renewed after NATO officials said Russia was continuing its military buildup. The Biden administration said Russia has added as many as 7,000 military personnel to Ukraine’s border.
“We have excellent intelligence and if the Russians in fact are removing those troops, we will see it,” John Ed Herbst, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday.
Insight into the Fed’s last policy-setting meeting Wednesday served as relief for investors who in recent weeks have grappled with the prospect central bank officials could scale up their hiking cycle on a string of recent red-hot inflation prints and stronger-than-expected jobs data.
The minutes indicated policymakers were weighing a near-term increase on short-term borrowing costs and would determine the timing of their balance sheet reduction process at imminent meetings but did not suggest a 50 basis point hike was on their agenda.
“With markets signaling the Fed’s latency on monetary policy action is a growing concern, investors were looking for any clues in the Fed minutes that allude to more aggressive policy changes in the near future,” Allianz Investment Management senior investment strategist Charlie Ripley said in a note. “In markets, timing is everything, and the delayed reaction from the Fed has investors convinced that aggressive policy tightening is on the horizon.”
“While not offering much to change that view, the Fed minutes did indicate a faster pace of tightening relative to the last hiking cycle is warranted,” Ripley said. “On balance, there was nothing in the minutes that suggested the Fed would be more aggressive than what the market has already priced in.”
On the economic data front, first-time unemployment filings unexpectedly ticked higher in the latest weekly data, capping a recent downward trend in jobless claims that signaled Omicron-related pressures on the labor market were beginning to abate.
Earnings are also front and center, with companies including retail heavyweight Walmart (WMT) revealing fiscal fourth quart results, alongside reports from Shake Shack (SHAK), Roku (ROKU), and Dropbox (DBX), among others later in the day.
—
9:30 a.m. ET: US stocks extend losses as Russia-Ukraine conflict persists
Here were the main moves in markets as of 9:30 a.m. ET:
-
S&P 500 (^GSPC): -30.03 (-0.67%) to 4,444.98
-
Dow (^DJI): -224.08 (-0.64%) to 34,710.19
-
Nasdaq (^IXIC): -116.58 (-0.83%) to 14,007.52
-
Crude (CL=F): -$2.43 (-2.59%) to $91.23 a barrel
-
Gold (GC=F): +$19.10 (+1.02%) to $1,890.60 per ounce
-
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -4.7 bps to yield 2.0000%
—
9:05 a.m. ET: Housing starts see sharp pullback to start 2022
Construction on new residential homes fell in January for the first time in four months as COVID-related labor shortages weighed on recent progress in building activity.
The Commerce Department’s latest snapshot of new home construction indicated housing starts declined by 4.1% last month to an annual rate of 1.64 million after ticking 0.3% higher to a revised rate of 1.71 million in December. Bloomberg consensus estimates projected a pace of 1.7 million new homes.
Meanwhile, building permits rose to an annualized 1.9 million units. The metric serves as a proxy of future construction.
—
8:45 a.m. ET: Elon Musk, Tesla accuse SEC of ‘endless’ probe
Electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and its Chief Executive Elon Musk alleged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was unfairly targeting them with an “endless” and “unrelenting” investigation amid the company leader’s criticism of the government.
A lawyer for Musk and Tesla filed a letter with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan accusing the regulator of failing to distribute funds from settlements reached in 2018 over Musk’s tweet that claimed he secured funding to take Tesla private.
Tesla was down 1.23% to $912.04 in pre-market trading as of 8:46 a.m. ET.
—
8:38 a.m. ET: Jobless claims edge higher for the first time in four weeks
First-time unemployment filings unexpectedly ticked higher in the latest weekly data, capping a recent downward trend in jobless claims that signaled Omicron-related pressures on the labor market were beginning to abate.
The Labor Department most recent weekly jobless claims report showed 248,000 Americans filed for unemployment in the week ended Feb 12., up from 225,000 during the prior period. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a read of 218,000, according to consensus data.
Prior to the latest figure, jobless claims have fallen consistently in recent weeks after a temporary surge in mid-January to a print of nearly 300,000, the highest level since October before the surge in filings began to ease over the past three weeks.
“The Omicron wave triggered a brief but startling spike in initial jobless claims, but payroll growth slowed only marginally in January, and the initial data for February from Homebase point to a rebound,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note. “At the same time, we are becoming increasingly convinced that the long-awaited rebound in labor participation is now underway, especially among women, who left the labor force in disproportionate numbers when schools and child care were closed.”
—
7:30 a.m. ET: Walmart jumps on better-than-expected sales forecast
Retail juggernaut Walmart Inc. (WMT) unveiled fiscal fourth quarter results ahead of market open Thursday that topped Wall Street estimates.
Walmart reported net revenue that reflected an upside surprise increase of 0.5% to $152.87 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $151.68 billion, according to Bloomberg data.
The company also projected a full-year profit and U.S. sales above expectations, pointing to steady demand at stores even as supply-chain issues and inflationary pressures weigh on the corporate giant’s margins.
Walmart forecast fiscal 2023 adjusted earnings per share to increase 5% to 6%.
Shares of Walmart jumped more than 3% in pre-market trading to $137.64 a piece as of 7:25 a.m. ET.
—
7:00 a.m. ET: Stock futures dip ahead amid corporate results, unemployment data
Here were the main moves in markets in pre-market trading Thursday:
-
S&P 500 (^GSPC): -21.75 (-0.49%) to 4,448.25
-
Dow (^DJI): -146.00 (-0.42%) to 34,705.00
-
Nasdaq (^IXIC): -89.25 (-0.61%) to 14,510.75
-
Crude (CL=F): -$1.61 (-1.72%) to $92.05 a barrel
-
Gold (GC=F): +$13.90 (+0.74%) to $1,885.40 per ounce
-
10-year Treasury (^TNX): +0.2 bps to yield 2.0470%
—
6:00 p.m. ET Wednesday: Wall Street’s key benchmarks sideways after volatile session
Here were the main moves in stock futures heading into overnight trading on Wednesday:
-
S&P 500 (^GSPC): +0.25 (+0.01%) to 4,470.25
-
Dow (^DJI): +22.00 (+0.06%) to 34,873.00
-
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +6.50 (+0.04%) to 14,606.50
-
Crude (CL=F): -$2.81 (-3.00%) to $90.85 a barrel
-
Gold (GC=F): +$0.40 (+0.02%) to $11,871.90 per ounce
-
10-year Treasury (^TNX): +0.2 bps to yield 2.0470%
—
Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn
