Ukraine worries prompt stocks to fall
S&P 500 charts its fourth loss in six weeks in tumultuous ’22
NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled again Friday, and this time bond yields joined in the swoon, as worries about an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine piled onto Wall Street’s already heavy list of concerns about inflation and interest rates.
The S&P 500 lost 1.9 percent after the White House encouraged all U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine within the next 48 hours, before possible military action by Russia. The price of oil rose more than 3 percent.
Stocks took a sudden turn lower in the middle of trading, with losses for the S&P 500 nearly tripling in about half an hour. Similar, kneejerk swings swept through other markets as investors pulled money out of riskier things such as stocks and moved instead toward the safety of bonds and gold.
They are just the latest sharp veers in what has already been a tumultuous 2022 for markets. Wall Street has been shaking as it comes to grips with a Federal Reserve forced to aggressively remove the low interest rates that investors love, in order to beat back high inflation.
The S&P 500 fell 85.44 points to 4,418.64 to lock in its fourth weekly loss in the past six.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 503.53, or 1.4 percent, to 34,738.06, and the Nasdaq dropped 394.49, or 2.8 percent, to 13,791.15.
Tensions have been simmering for a while about possible military action by Russia, and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that “the threat is now immediate enough that prudence demands that it is the time to leave now” for Americans in the country.
Russia is one of the world’s largest energy producers, and the warnings gave oil prices an immediate jolt. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.3 percent to settle at $94.44 barrel amid the possibility that violence could disrupt supplies. U.S. crude rose 3.6 percent to settle at $93.10 per barrel.
Prices were already rising before the Ukraine warnings, probably because of a statement from the International Energy Agency that supplies in the oil market are tight, said Stewart Glickman, energy equity analyst at CFRA.
Gold also rose, gaining nearly $20 in half an hour during the afternoon to top $1,860 per ounce, as investors searched for safety.
A similar rush for stability also drove investors in Treasury bonds, which in turn lowered their yields. The 10-year Treasury yield sank to 1.91 percent from roughly 2.03 percent late Thursday.