Wall Street down on fears over Ukraine


by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Noel Randewich

Feb 11 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply lower on Friday, ending in the red for a second consecutive session, as investors worried about rising tensions around Ukraine and the possibility of a impending Russian offensive.

The Dow Jones index fell 1.43% to 34,738.06 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost 1.90% to 4,418.64 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.78% to 13,791.15 points.

Nine of the eleven major sectors of the S&P-500 declined, like technology, down 3%. Driven by soaring oil prices, the energy sector grew by 2.8%.

With investors already concerned about persistently rising inflation and rising interest rates, the selling trend on Wall Street intensified after US President Joe Biden’s administration warned that the Russia now had enough troops to launch a major offensive against Ukraine.

“We have to wait and see what happens over the weekend and whether international leaders can calm it down,” said Thomas Hayes, manager at Great Hill Capital in New York.

“Otherwise, the repercussions could be significant, and that is what worries the markets,” he said.

Apple, Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft all ended in the red, weighing heavily on the S&P-500.

The main Wall Street indices had already ended in the red on Thursday following the publication of data on consumer prices in the United States in January.

* TO BE FOLLOWED ON MONDAY:

(French version Jean Terzian)




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