U.S. Stocks Moving Sharply Lower As Russia-Ukraine Conflict Escalates

Stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of morning trading on Friday, adding to the losses posted in the previous session. The major averages have all shown significant moves to the downside on the day.

Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 462.79 points or 1.4 percent at 33,331.87, the Nasdaq is down 208.87 points or 1.5 percent at 13,329.07 and the S&P 500 is down 62.39 points or 1.4 percent at 4,301.10.

The sell-off on Wall Street comes as concerns about the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to weigh on the markets, with Russia ratcheting up its attacks.

Russia has reportedly taken control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

The Russian attack on the plant had previously caused a fire to break out at the facility, raising concerns about a potential nuclear disaster.

Worries about Ukraine have overshadowed a typically closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. employment once again jumped by much more than expected in the month of February.

The report showed non-farm payroll employment spiked by 678,000 jobs in February after surging by an upwardly revised 481,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 400,000 jobs compared to the addition of 467,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate dipped to 3.8 percent in February from 4.0 percent in January. The unemployment rate was expected to edge down to 3.9 percent.

The report also showed a slowdown in the annual rate of wage growth, which economists suggested could lead to less pressure on the Federal Reserve to aggressively raise interest rates.

Airline stocks are extending the steep drop seen in the previous session, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 4.2 percent to its lowest intraday level in well over a year.

A steep drop by treasury yields is also weighing on banking stocks, with the KBW Bank Index tumbling by 3.4 percent. The index has fallen to a more than two-month intraday low.

Brokerage, chemical and computer hardware stocks are also seeing considerable weakness on the day, while gold and energy stocks are bucking the downtrend.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved to the downside during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged by 2.2 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved sharply lower on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has plummeted by 4.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 3.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 2.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have climbed firmly into positive territory despite the strong jobs data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 10.6 basis points at 1.738 percent.

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