US open: Stocks mixed as Russia marches on Kyiv

Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Friday after major indices staged a sharp reversal in the previous session following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

As of 1520 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.65% at 33,439.75, while the S&P 500 was 0.31% firmer at 4,301.90 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.56% weaker at 13,398.21.

The Dow opened 215.92 points higher on Friday after seeing out the previous session in the green as market participants continued to assess risks stemming from Moscow's decision to enter Ukrainian territory.

The Russia-Ukraine situation remained firmly in focus early 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

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $75.53 2.75%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $224.18 2.24%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.67 2.04%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $161.17 1.92%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $61.49 1.62%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $154.10 1.54%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $136.84 1.48%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $146.41 1.29%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $168.64 1.29%
Boeing Co. (BA) $200.91 1.25%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $308.16 -1.62%
Visa Inc. (V) $214.57 -1.26%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $147.60 -1.20%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $201.92 -1.16%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $161.34 -0.86%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $292.42 -0.74%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.44 -0.59%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $136.68 -0.36%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $134.24 -0.22%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $184.41 -0.15%

S&P 500 - Risers

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $146.63 7.51%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $31.62 7.33%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $47.63 4.85%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $83.66 4.12%
Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (PNW) $70.10 4.04%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $51.45 3.79%
Molson Coors Beverage Co. Class B (TAP) $51.27 3.74%
CBRE Group Inc (CBRE) $97.14 3.52%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $69.07 3.14%
Truist Financial Corp. (TFC) $61.01 3.04%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $27.14 -34.45%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $479.21 -3.60%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $15.68 -3.51%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $105.10 -3.35%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $75.95 -3.32%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $377.46 -3.22%
Discovery Inc. Class C (DISCK) $26.83 -3.04%
Discovery Inc. Class A (DISCA) $26.90 -2.99%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $53.83 -2.90%
HP Inc (HPQ) $33.68 -2.46%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $31.62 7.33%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $83.66 4.12%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $224.18 2.24%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $94.56 1.90%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $39.63 1.67%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $65.69 1.61%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $191.43 1.33%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $27.60 1.25%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.15 1.09%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $96.56 1.05%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $5.66 -6.75%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $479.21 -3.60%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $377.46 -3.22%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $53.83 -2.90%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $784.62 -2.02%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $26.34 -1.97%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $214.08 -1.88%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $500.05 -1.79%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $456.75 -1.52%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $303.38 -1.44%