NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – The US stock exchanges fell sharply later on Friday in trading. Investors fled risky stocks to havens that were perceived as safe, such as government bonds or currencies such as the yen and the US dollar, primarily because of the escalating conflict in Ukraine.
The strong upward trend in prices in the USA is also causing additional nervousness. Since the highest inflation rate in over 40 years was published on Thursday, market participants have been speculating all the more feverishly about forthcoming interest rate hikes, as these could possibly come faster and more extensively than previously expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial (Dow Jones 30 Industrial) lost 1.43 percent to 34,738.06 points. While it had looked like the Wall Street index would be up for the week given the initially friendly start to trading, it ultimately posted a minus of one percent.
The S&P 500 index, which covers the broader market, ended the day 1.90 percent lower at 4418.64 points. The NASDAQ 100 technology index fell 3.07 percent to 14,253.84 points, down three percent for the week.
A certain calming of the situation in Ukraine was actually expected, “but that no longer seems to be the case,” commented market analyst Edward Moya from broker Oanda. Stock traders quickly hit the sell button after reports that the United States was anticipating a continued invasion of Ukraine.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said shortly afterwards that “we are in a window where an invasion could begin at any time should (Russian President) Vladimir Putin decide to order it.” Since the US government considers an invasion possible before the end of the Winter Olympics on Sunday next week, around 3,000 more US forces are now being sent to eastern Europe.
Corporate news was a bit thinner ahead of the weekend. The sporting goods manufacturer Under Armor scared investors with its business figures. The share fell by more than eleven percent, the Nike competitor suffered from declining results in the Christmas quarter. Against this background, the increased sales target for the current quarter could not calm things down.
Shares in Expedia turned negative after a record high of almost $210.50 and lost 2.7 percent. However, the latest interim report from the online travel company was strong: Despite the pandemic, the company managed to jump back into the profit zone. The British bank Barclays and its Swiss competitor Credit Suisse then raised their price targets for the share and confirmed their buy recommendations. Since the beginning of the year, there has already been a price increase of around seven percent – the Nasdaq 100 lost almost 13 percent in the same period.
Davita shares (DaVita HealthCare Partners) also gave up their daily gains, but saved a plus of 0.1 percent in the weak overall market. The dialysis specialist exceeded analyst estimates with its increase in earnings and sales in the last quarter.
The euro slipped below the $1.14 mark to close at $1.1341 on Wall Street. The European Central Bank previously set the reference rate at 1.1417 (Thursday: 1.1439) dollars. The dollar thus cost 0.8759 (0.8742) euros.
On the US bond market, the futures contract for ten-year Treasuries (T-Note Future) jumped 0.65 percent to 126.61 points. The yield on ten-year government bonds fell to 1.92 percent. The day before, it had risen by up to 2.05 percent to its highest level in a good two and a half years./ck/he
— By Claudia Müller, dpa-AFX —
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