US stockpiles build up higher on Friday due to concern over Russian invasion Ukraine drowned out a report showing robust hiring in the U.S. last month.
The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to close at 4,3287, as the conflict in Eastern Europe took a dangerous turn. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces were charged on Friday bomb a huge nuclear power plant before taking control of the facility. A fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant caused by the bombings has raised concerns about what is to come.
Russia blamed Ukraine for the fire, calling it a “monstrous provocation,” but the U.S. embassy in Kyiv accused the Russian president. Vladimir Putin’s “war crime” with what he said was “the bombing of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.”
These concerns helped drag the Dow Jones Industrial Average 180 points, or 0.5%, to 33,614. The Nasdaq compound fell nearly 2%.
More than 60% of the benchmark S&P 500 shares fell on the day, with technology and financial companies weighing the most. Apple fell 2% and JPMorgan Chase fell 3.9%. Benefits included utilities, health care and businesses that could benefit from rising oil prices. Occidental Petroleum jumped 16.7% to make the biggest gain in the index.
Treasury yields plummeted as investors shifted money to U.S. government bonds in search of security, and a bit of nervousness rose on Wall Street.
“Fantastic” job report.
All the movements arrived in spite of much more compelling report on jobs in the US than economists expected, one describes it as encouraging and even “fantastic.” The hiring of employers last month exceeded the expectations of hundreds of thousands of workers, more people returned to the workforce after being left out and the number of jobs in previous months was revised higher.
In terms of inflation, workers’ wage growth was slower last month than economists expected. While this is discouraging for workers hoping to keep up with rising grocery prices, for economists and investors, it means less risk that the economy could go to what is called “wage-price spiral.” In this cycle of reinforcement, higher wages for workers would cause companies to raise their own prices even further.
The United States added 678,000 jobs in February
05:39
“He COVID recovery it was in full swing in the jobs report, “said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments.
“The tricky part is the future, not the past,” he said, as US crude oil prices rose above $ 114 a barrel amid concerns over pressure on supplies due to the war. Ukraine. “Higher fuel and food costs can affect consumers’ budgets. These high costs can be a boon for oil producers and farmers, but not for everyone else.”
The price of US oil rose 6.2% to $ 114.37 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 5.3% to $ 116.14 a barrel.
Rising oil costs pushed the national average price of gasoline at $ 3.78 a gallonTrend experts say it is unlikely to be reduced as soon as the Russian war with Ukraine intensifies.
“Aside from oil prices, the war in Ukraine will have no major impact on U.S. price inflation,” said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics, in a report. “In terms of food prices, the extreme drought on the west coast and in some parts of the south is still a more important factor for domestic prices than events in Ukraine.”
Concern about the price of gas is growing as the war in Ukraine continues
07:22
Amid the rush to security, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.73% from 1.84% on Thursday afternoon, a big move. It is well below the 2% level it had reached last month, as expectations were set for the next rise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve to curb inflation.
Shares had recovered in the middle of the week after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he was in favor of a more modest rise in interest rates later this month than some investors had dreaded. The Fed will raise rates for the first time since 2018, although it has a way ahead because rates that are too high could drown the economy and cause a recession.
Powell warned on Thursday that fighting in Ukraine is likely to further increase high inflation that worries global economies. Russia is a key oil producer and prices have risen as global supplies are threatened by the conflict.
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