US open: Stocks mixed as Russia-Ukraine tensions remain in focus

dl exchange place wall st street pl new york city nyc ny nyse stock exchange dow jones sp nasdaq finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america — Exchange PlaceSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst day of the year so far.

As of 1530 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04% at 34,326.83, while the S&P 500 was 0.04% softer at 4,378.68 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.45% weaker at 13,655.01.

The Dow opened 14.80 points lower on Friday, doing little to reclaim 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.

Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve's Charles Evans, Christopher Waller, John Williams and Lael Brainard will all deliver comments throughout the course of the day.

Dow Jones - Risers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $153.26 1.21%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.25 0.86%
American Express Co. (AXP) $197.22 0.77%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $473.78 0.73%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $76.71 0.46%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $171.35 0.45%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $47.01 0.42%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $143.35 0.39%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $222.46 0.35%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $251.68 0.30%