US close: Stocks end session higher despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Friday despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.51% at 34,058.75, while the S&P 500 was 2.24% firmer at 4,384.65 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.64% stronger at 13,694.62.

The Dow closed 834.92 points higher on Friday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as market participants assessed risks stemming from Moscow's decision to enter Ukrainian territory.

The Russia-Ukraine situation remained firmly in focus on Friday after news broke that Russia was closing in on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, which was said to have been hit by "horrific Russian rocket strikes, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned only a day earlier that Kyiv "could well be under siege" soon.

Joe Biden has already imposed a number of new sanctions against Russia as part of an effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy, with the White House also authorising additional troops to be stationed in Germany as NATO and its allies attempt to bolster defences across Europe.

A top Ukrainian official said that his country was ready for talks with the Russian Federation, including regarding the neutral status as referred to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

"If talks are possible, they should be held. If in Moscow they say they want to hold talks, including on neutral status, we are not afraid of this," said Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak. "We can talk about that as well. Our readiness for dialogue is part of our persistent pursuit of peace."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was prepared to dispatch a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with their Ukrainian counterparts. Citing presidential press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, Russian daily Kommersant reported that the delegation was set to include representatives of the Ministry of Defence, Foreign Affairs, and the presidential administration.

On the macro front, a key inflation reading showed that prices rose at the fastest rate in almost 39 years in January, according to the Commerce Department, as the core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 5.2% year-on-year - the highest level since April 1983.

Elsewhere, new orders for US manufactured durable goods rose 1.6% month-on-month in January following a revised 1.2% gain in December to beat market expectations for an increase of 0.8%, according to the Census Bureau.

Still on data, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was revised higher to 62.8 in February from a preliminary of 61.7 but still pointed to the lowest level of consumer confidence in the past ten years.

Lastly, US pending home sales decreased 9.50% in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In the corporate space, Foot Locker shares slumped after the footwear retailer revealed that Nike's efforts to ramp up its direct-to-consumer operations had forced it to issue weak sales forecasts and MoneyGram said digital revenues reached a record of $277.0m in 2021.

Dow Jones - Risers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $166.00 4.97%
3M Co. (MMM) $150.51 4.74%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $475.75 4.36%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $158.24 4.27%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $173.44 4.17%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $140.38 4.10%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.85 3.87%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $76.32 3.82%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $227.03 3.54%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $350.12 2.92%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $149.53 0.09%
Visa Inc. (V) $219.27 0.91%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $297.31 0.92%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $316.65 1.09%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $138.80 1.19%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $187.06 1.28%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $164.85 1.30%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $136.38 1.38%

S&P 500 - Risers

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $32.80 11.34%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $49.53 9.22%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $130.05 7.57%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $48.67 7.13%
Molson Coors Beverage Co. Class B (TAP) $52.92 7.08%
Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) $71.99 6.84%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $623.16 6.66%
Truist Financial Corp. (TFC) $62.97 6.35%
Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $144.82 6.18%
People's United Financial Inc. (PBCT) $21.17 6.12%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $29.07 -29.80%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $107.28 -2.56%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $9.98 -2.16%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $487.18 -2.00%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $54.60 -1.52%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $16.02 -1.42%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $26.39 -1.12%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,281.46 -0.59%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $37.99 -0.50%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $108.21 -0.49%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $32.80 11.34%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,111.39 7.53%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $99.72 7.46%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $110.94 5.64%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $84.57 5.25%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $28.45 4.37%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $58.69 4.28%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $87.32 3.98%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $196.09 3.80%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $96.71 3.79%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $5.91 -2.64%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $487.18 -2.00%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $54.60 -1.52%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,281.46 -0.59%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $91.71 -0.26%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $357.65 -0.07%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $108.24 0.00%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $179.20 0.00%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $182.50 0.00%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $0.00 0.00%