US market close: Stocks rally despite conflict in Europe
By Joseph Toppe
20:21, 24 February 2022
The US benchmarks clawed back into positive territory as Russian military forces continue their assault on Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (US30) went up 91 points, or 0.28%, the S&P 500 went up 1.49%, while the Nasdaq Composite (US100) went 3.34% higher.
Halfway through the session, the Dow was down approximately 524 points, or 1.58%, the S&P was down around 0.81%, and the Nasdaq was down roughly 0.01%.
Will war affect US economy?
Clemson University economist Bruce Yandle told Capital.com the Russian invasion “will transmit major economic harm to the US and other economies.”
“We’ve already seen crude oil prices break $100, which could translate into an average of $4.00 per gallon of gasoline in the US,” he said. “In addition to being the producer of 10% of the world’s petroleum, Russia is also a major exporter of coal, natural gas, corn and wheat.”
“In short, the world will suffer from disruptions in major commodity markets. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve is struggling to reduce inflation and their action now becomes even more risky, with the prospects of a slowing US economy becoming a more likely outcome,” Yandle said.
What is your sentiment on US30?
Winners & losers: Tech rebounds
In the technology sector, shares of Adobe are up 8.0%, Apple is up 1.67%,while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is 6.24% in the green, and Texas Instruments is 2.38% higher.
In other tech stocks, shares of Microsoft are up 5.11%, Nvidia is 6.08% higher, as Intel jumped 4.64% and Alphabet surged 4.0%.
In the banking sector, shares of Wells Fargo are off 2.3%, Citigroup is down 4.03%, and JPMorgan is 2.84% lower.
Meanwhile, First Republic Bank rose 2.61%, BlackRock went back 0.061%, while Bank of America retreated 2.64% and Goldman Sachs dropped 0.3%.
Oil: Surges
Oil futures are up on Thursday as West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery added 71 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $92.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and April Brent crude tacked on $2.24, or 2.3%, to $99.08 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
In energy stock, shares of Hess rose 1.38% and Exxon Mobil went down 1.27%.
Gold: Metals spike
Gold futures went higher as April gold jumped $15.90, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,926.30 an ounce, while March Silver added almost 0.6% to $24.687 an ounce.
Treasury: Yield recedes
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.903% from 1.976% on Wednesday.
Forex: USD bounces
The US dollar is up on the euro and British pound sterling, rising to $0.89 and $0.75 of the currencies respectively, while also rising on the Canadian dollar to $1.28.
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