United States
Stocks seesawed lower as sentiment soured amid uncertainty over the Ukraine situation headed into the long weekend. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both fell 0.7 percent and the NASDAQ lost 1.2 percent.
Heavy options expiration exacerbated the selling pressure, along with disappointing company news. Big tech and consumer discretionary stocks led the losses, with Nvidia off 3.5 percent and Intel off 5.3 percent. Tesla was down 2.2 percent, and Amazon off 1.3 percent. Consumer staples, materials, and financials held up better.
Traders were quick to punish growth stocks reporting missed expectations. Roku, the streaming video company, a pandemic favorite, tanked 23 percent, and DraftKings, the sports betting business, dropped 22 percent after revenue misses.
Reopening stocks suffered, too, including airlines, cruise lines, and hotels, as they relinquished some of the week's gains. Meanwhile, Boeing, down 2.1 percent, and Walt Disney, down 1.0 percent, weighed on the Dow industrials. On the positive side, Bloomin' Brands, owner of several restaurant chains, rose 7.6 percent on strong guidance for its Outback Steakhouses.
These price data reflect observations at 4:00 PM US ET: Dated Brent spot crude oil rose 68 cents to US$93.77 while spot gold declined 87 cents to US$1,897.44. The US dollar rose vs. major currencies. Yields on the US Treasury 30-year bond declined 6 basis points to 2.24 percent, and the 10-year note fell 3 basis points to 1.93 percent.
Europe
Equities sold off as investors braced for bad news from Ukraine going into the weekend. The Europe-wide STOXX 600 fell 0.8 percent, the German DAX declined 1.5 percent and the French CAC and UK FTSE 100 both eased 0.3 percent.
Risk appetite also suffered from hawkish-sounding rhetoric from Federal Reserve officials, including Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, who supported St. Louis Fed President James Bullard's view that the Fed may need to accelerate its tightening pace in the second half of 2022 if inflation does not slow.
Among sectors, travel & leisure, technology, autos & parts, construction & materials, and industrials lagged while holding up better were food & beverage, basic resources, and personal & household goods.
Among companies in focus, Pernod Ricard, the drinks leader, rose 2.0 percent after announcing a share buyback. Teleperformance, the business services company, gained 4.9 percent on better-than-expected trading results. On the downside, EDF, the utility, fell 2.4 percent after reporting weak output totals.
Asia Pacific
Asia/Pacific markets were mixed with hopeful noises from the Ukraine crisis offsetting negative regulatory news affecting Chinese tech stocks.
Japan's markets edged down with the Ukraine crisis in focus but equities recovered from the day's lows on hopes for a diplomatic solution. The Nikkei 225 and the wider TOPIX index both slipped 0.4 percent. Among sectors, miners lagged while automakers were relatively strong.
China's CSI 300 index gained 0.5 percent and the value-stock heavy Shanghai composite rose 0.7 percent. Among sectors, real estate improved while industrials lagged. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.9 percent with a selloff in Meituan, down 15 percent, leading internet stocks down after Chinese regulators told ecommerce firms to cut their fees and warned against fund-raising in the metaverse.
The Taiwan Taiex eased 0.2 percent and the South Korean KOSPI was flat. Indian equities were mixed with the BSE Sensex ending down 0.1 percent.
Ukraine worries and rate hike expectations left the Australian All Ordinaries index off 1.0 percent. Utilities, health care, and technology stocks led the declines while materials, industrials, and energy stocks fared best.
