BANGKOK –
Stocks fell in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday as major indexes head for their second weekly loss in a row after another bout of turbulence shook markets.
The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 12:08 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 264 points, or 0.8%, to 34,047 and the Nasdaq fell 1.4%.
Investors have been watching the latest developments in Ukraine, where Russia has been amassing troops on the border. The tensions are yet another concern for investors as they try to determine how markets and the economy will react to rising inflation and looming interest rate hikes. The broader market has been turbulent all week and is headed for a weekly loss.
Weakness from several big technology stocks, which have more weight on indexes because of their size, helped pull the broader market lower. Intel fell 5.8%.
Retailers and travel-related companies were also falling. Amazon shed 2% and MGM Resorts fell 1.3%.
Companies viewed as less risky investments, such as household and personal products makers, held up better than the rest of the market.
Tensions over Russia and Ukraine have been growing all week, throwing a curveball to markets that have been more focused on inflation, central banks’ monetary policy and economic growth. The U.S. has issued some of its starkest, most detailed warnings yet about how a Russian invasion of Ukraine might unfold, and its Western allies went on high alert for any attempts by the Kremlin to create a false pretext for a new war in Europe.
Russia is a major energy producer and a military conflict could disrupt energy supplies and make for extremely volatile energy prices.
Investors are still focused on the Federal Reserve and its plan to raise interest rates in order to fight rising inflation. The latest minutes from a meeting of policymakers from the Fed confirmed that the central bank intends to move decisively to fight inflation with higher interest rates. Wall Street is trying to look ahead to determine how a more aggressive monetary policy from the Fed will impact markets, especially after years of ultra-low interest rates more supportive policies.
Inflation remains a key concern as companies continue facing supply chain problems and higher costs, prompting warnings that operations will suffer through some or all of 2022. Video streaming company Roku slumped 24.7% after giving investors a weak revenue forecast and warning about persistent supply chain problems.
Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.93% from 1.97%.
