A woman walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange today. Asian stock markets fell today and oil prices rose amid concern about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
(AP) – Stocks are off to a mixed start on Wall Street as investors keep a wary eye on the developing situation in Ukraine as Russia amasses troops on the border. The S&P 500 was moving between small gains and losses in the early going today. The index had taken a sharp turn lower Friday after the White House warned that Russia could invade Ukraine soon. The Nasdaq was up 0.1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2 percent. European markets were down sharply. Crude oil prices were down slightly and Treasury yields rose. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 1.99 percent.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street futures followed global markets lower today as fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine mounted.
In premarket trading in New York, futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent and the same for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.6 percent.
Frankfurt and Paris opened down more than 3 percent. London lost 2percent and Tokyo slid 2.2 percent. Shanghai and Hong Kong also retreated.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 1.9 percent on Friday after the White House told Americans to leave Ukraine within 48 hours. Other governments including Russia pulled diplomats and their citizens out of the country.
Russia is one of the biggest oil producers. Any military action that disrupts supplies could send shockwaves through energy markets and global industry.
“Markets are belatedly waking up to the geopolitical risks posed by Russian military action against Ukraine,” Rabobank said in a report.
On Friday, the S&P turned in its fourth weekly loss in six weeks after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the threat of a Russian attack is “immediate enough” that Americans should leave Ukraine.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo retreated to 27,079.59 after Japan’s central bank tried today to curb a surge in long-term interest rates by offering to buy government bonds.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.4 percent to 24,556.57. The Kospi in Seoul retreated 1.6 percent to 2,704.48.
The Shanghai Composite Index shed 1% to 3,428.88 while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.4 percent to 7,243.90.
India’s Sensex declined 2.7 percent to 56,600.70. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets retreated.
Investors already were on edge about Fed plans to wind down economic stimulus to cool inflation that is at a four-decade high and about how quickly Europe and other central banks would follow.
Investors moved money into Treasury bonds, gold and other assets seen as safe havens.
The market price of a 10-year Treasury rose on Friday, pushing down its yield, or the difference between the day’s price and the payout if held to maturity, to 1.92 percent from Thursday’s 2.03% percent.
Treasury prices had been falling on expectations the Fed will raise interest rates as many as seven times this year. If the Fed succeeds in cooling inflation, that would increase the buying power of the payout from bonds, making them a more attractive investment.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude declined 54 cents to $92.56 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $3.22 on Friday to $93.10. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, declined 56 cents to $93.88 per barrel in London. It gained $3.03 the previous session to $94.44.
The dollar declined to 115.14 yen from Friday’s 115.27 yen. The euro retreated to $1.1304 from $1.1334.
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