U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday despite a stronger-than-expected jobs data as the worsening war between Ukraine and Russia kept investors on the edge. All the three major indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.5% or 179.86 points to close at 33,614.80 points.
The S&P 500 slid 0.8% or 34.62 points to end at 4,328.87 points. Technology and financial stocks were the worst performers, while energy and utilities were the best.
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) declined 1.8% and 1.9%, respectively. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 2.9% and 2.2%, respectively. Six of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 1.7% or 224.5 points to end at 13,313.44 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 4.92% to 31.98. A total of 13.9 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 12.6 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.12-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.70-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
Ukraine-Russia War Raise Fears
Investors’ confidence has been low ever since Russia invaded Ukraine. On Thursday, markets failed to hold on to the gains and ended in negative territory. On Friday, tensions further escalated that overshadowed a stronger-than-expected February jobs data released earlier in the morning.
Investors woke up to news of Russia shelling a nuclear plant in Ukraine. Amid fierce fighting reports started emerging that a fire at one of the nuclear reactors could be catastrophic for the whole of Europe although the six nuclear reactors three were already offline.
Although firing stopped afternoon, Russia by that time had already taken control of the nuclear plant, the largest in Europe. This further raised concerns that Russia is in no mood to stop and will continue its invasion into Ukraine till it takes total control of the country.
This once again escalated fears among investors, who started flocking for safe-haven assets like gold and the dollar, while other stocks took a beating.
Tech stocks suffered on Friday with the likes of Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
declining 2.1%, while Meta Platforms, Inc.
FB
fell 1.4%. Financial stocks that are likely to benefit from rate hikes also took a hit. Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM
and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
GS
fell 2.8% and 1.4% respectively. Microsoft has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
Travel stocks were also one of the worst performers on Friday, with shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc.
UAL
and Delta Air Lines, Inc.
DAL
falling 9.1% and 5.6%, respectively.
Oil prices have been on the rise ever since tension started brewing between Ukraine and Russia, which further escalated on Friday, sending energy stocks on a rally. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation
XOM
jumped 3.8%. Chevron Corporation’s
CVX
shares gained 1.6%.
Economic Data
The February jobs released on Friday morning was impressive although it failed to lift investors’ sentiments. The U.S. economy added 678,000 jobs in February, beating economists’ expectations of 440,000.
Also, unemployment rate fell to 3.8%. This is the last jobs report before the Fed meets later this month here it is expected to implement the first of its multiple rate hikes expected this year. The Fed is expected to go for a single 25 basis point hike in March.
Weekly Roundup
The Dow fell 1.3% for the week, recording its fourth straight weekly losses. The S&P 500 also fell 1.3%, while the Nasdaq ended down 2.8% for the week. Both the indexes have now fallen in three of the past four weeks.
Infrastructure Stock Boom to Sweep America
A massive push to rebuild the crumbling U.S. infrastructure will soon be underway. It’s bipartisan, urgent, and inevitable. Trillions will be spent. Fortunes will be made.
The only question is “Will you get into the right stocks early when their growth potential is greatest?”
Zacks has released a Special Report to help you do just that, and today it’s free. Discover 5 special companies that look to gain the most from construction and repair to roads, bridges, and buildings, plus cargo hauling and energy transformation on an almost unimaginable scale.
Download FREE: How to Profit from Trillions on Spending for Infrastructure >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report