Wall Street Wobbles; Headed for Weekly Gain
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks wobbled in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday as a three-day rally stalled, but major indexes are still headed for strong weekly gains.
The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% as of 10:22 a.m. Eastern. The benchmark index notched back-to-back days with gains of 2% this week and is on track for its biggest weekly gain this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 92 points, or 0.3%, to 33,384. The Nasdaq rose 0.7% and is also headed for its best weekly gains this year.
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Banks and industrial companies were among the biggest drags on the market. Bank of America fell 1.3% and Caterpillar lost 1.2%.
Gains by several big technology companies helped counter losses elsewhere in the market. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 5.3%.
Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.14% from 2.19% late Thursday.
The ongoing war in Ukraine continues to drive sentiment after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more help for his country after days of bombardment of civilian sites. Wall Street is also still concerned about rising interest rates, along with surging COVID-19 cases in China and Europe.
Russia's invasion Ukraine has weighed heavily on markets as investors try to gauge how the conflict could impact global economic growth. Markets in Europe have been particularly sensitive to the war and were mostly lower on Friday. Oil prices have been extremely volatile and U.S. benchmark crude oil remains above $100. Energy prices were relatively stable on Friday.
The high energy prices are only adding to worries about inflation and whether the squeeze on consumers will eventually crimp spending and economic growth.
High inflation has prompted central banks to rethink their low interest-rate policies. The Bank of England has been one of the most aggressive, and it raised its key interest rate on Thursday for the third time since December.
The Federal Reserve announced a 0.25% increase on its key interest rate this week. It is the first rate hike since 2018 and is expected to be followed by more this year as the Fed tries to tame inflation.
Investors will be watching closely for any developments that could impact global trade as U.S. President Joe Biden is to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about "managing the competition between our two countries as well as Russia's war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern," the White House said. Markets in Asia were mostly higher.
Several stocks were making big moves after releasing their latest financial results and updates. FedEx fell 4.5% after its fiscal third-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street forecasts. U.S. Steel fell 4.3% after giving investors a disappointing profit forecast.