US Stocks Head for 2nd Weekly Loss

(AP) -- Stocks wavered between small gains and losses in morning trading on Wall Street Friday as major indexes head for their second weekly loss in a row after another bout of turbulence shook markets.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 10:18 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points, or 0.2%, to 34,399 and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%.

Investors have been watching the latest developments in Ukraine, where Russia has been amassing troops on the border. The tensions are yet another concern for investors as they try to determine how markets and the economy will react to rising inflation and looming interest rate hikes. The broader market has been turbulent all week and is headed for a weekly loss.

Communications stocks and banks gained ground. Netflix jumped 2.7% and JPMorgan Chase rose 1.4%. The gains were tempered by weakness from several big technology stocks, which have more weight on the market because of their size. Intel fell 2.8%. Energy companies were mixed as U.S. crude oil prices fell 1%.

Tensions over Russia and Ukraine have been growing all week, throwing a curveball to markets that have been more focused on inflation, central banks' monetary policy and economic growth. The U.S. has issued some of its starkest, most detailed warnings yet about how a Russian invasion of Ukraine might unfold, and its Western allies went on high alert for any attempts by the Kremlin to create a false pretext for a new war in Europe.

Russia is a major energy producer and a military conflict could disrupt energy supplies and make for extremely volatile energy prices.

Investors are still focused on the Federal Reserve and its plan to raise interest rates in order to fight rising inflation. The latest minutes from a meeting of policymakers from the Fed confirmed that the central bank intends to move decisively to fight inflation with higher interest rates. Wall Street is trying to look ahead to determine how a more aggressive monetary policy from the Fed will impact markets, especially after years of ultra-low interest rates more supportive policies.

Inflation remains a key concern as companies continue facing supply chain problems and higher costs, prompting warnings that operations will suffer through some or all of 2022. Video streaming company Roku slumped 27.5% after giving investors a weak revenue forecast and warning about persistent supply chain problems.

Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.94% from 1.97%.