NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Friday as fears over escalating conflict in Ukraine far outweighed a stronger-than-expected rise in state job creation. -United.
Most of the S&P’s 11 sector indices ended in the red, with banking stocks posting the biggest decline on investor concerns about the impact of Western sanctions against Russia on the international financial system.
Overall, equities suffered from risk aversion as traders sought safe havens.
The Dow Jones index fell -0.53%, or 179.86 points, to 33,614.8 points.
The broader S&P-500 fell 34.62 points, or -0.79%, to 4,328.87 points.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 224.5 points (-1.66%) to 13,313.44 points.
Over the past week, the Dow Jones fell by 1.30%, the S&P by 1.27% and the Nasdaq by 2.78%.
The US Department of Labor reported 678,000 nonfarm payrolls last month after 481,000 (revised from 467,000) in January. The Reuters consensus for February was 400,000.
“Three or four weeks ago, this number would have been considered incredibly important. But due to the context and events happening in Europe, it is no longer so,” said Zachary Hill, portfolio manager at Horizon Investments. .
“The potential for military escalation, the potential for an impact on growth in Europe and elsewhere, and the consequences for commodities and inflation occupy all the time and energy of investors,” he said. added.
The ready-to-wear group Gap Inc, which had risen sharply at the start of the session after announcing earnings forecasts above expectations, finally closed unchanged.
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(written by Laetitia Volga, Jean-Stéphane Brosse)