US close: Major indices extend losses
Wall Street stocks ended the session lower on Friday, adding to losses recorded in the Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst day of the year so far.
At the close, Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.68% at 34,079.18, while the S&P 500 was 0.72% softer at 4,348.87 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.23% weaker at 13,548.07.
The Dow closed 232.85 points lower on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as market participants monitored developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and digested a disappointing initial jobless claims report.
As for Friday, investors were still firmly focussed on Russia and Ukraine at the opening bell after the latter accused pro-Russian separatists of attacking a village near the border and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations that the situation was now at a "moment of peril".
Blinken has also accepted an invitation from Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to meet next week, provided there is no further Russian incursions into Ukraine.
On the macro front, sales of US existing homes unexpectedly rose in January, while housing inventory was at a record low, according to data released on Friday by the National Association of Realtors. Sales were up 6.7% from December to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.5m. Analysts had been expecting sales to fall 1% to 6.1m. Compared with a year earlier, sales were down 2.3%.
On another note, the Conference Board's leading index decreased 0.3% in January to 119.6 following a 0.7% uptick in December.
In the corporate space, Deere & Co upped its full-year profit guidance on Friday amid improved margins as a result of price hikes and strong demand for its tractors and combines.