The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped Friday, leading another rally in US stocks and closing out a volatile week. Stocks began the trading session strong after Moscow said it would be open to talks with Ukrainian leadership. Wall Street is also weighing the prospect of the Federal Reserve turning less aggressive about hiking rates. Loading Something is loading.
US stocks jumped Friday to cap off a volatile week of trading, led by an 800-point surge from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Indexes began the trading session strong after Moscow said it would be open to talks with Ukrainian leadership, even as Russian forces closed in on Kyiv and air raids intensified. Wall Street is also weighing the prospect of the Federal Reserve turning less aggressive about hiking rates.
“US stocks are rallying as Wall Street anticipates central bank reluctance to go overly aggressive with tightening monetary policy, so they could provide a cushion for a growth hit that will stem the Russia-Ukraine developments,” said Edward Moya, OANDA senior market analyst. He said stock market volatility will stick around for the time being.
Meanwhile, the US and its allies continued to ramp up sanctions on the Kremlin. The White House is reportedly joining the EU in freezing the assets of President Vladimir Putin. European officials also expressed more willingness to ban Russian from the Swift global financial network.
Here’s where US indexes stood as the market closed at 4 p.m. ET on Friday:
S&P 500: 4,384.66, up 2.24%Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,058.75, up 2.51% (834.92 points)Nasdaq Composite: 13,694.62, up 1.64%As stocks surged Friday, Bank of America advised investors to sell into any rally in the market, as three-quarters of the Nasdaq is in bear-market territory and a new era of geopolitical risks commences.
Elsewhere, asset management firm GMO shared guidance on how investors can navigate risk amid a stock market “superbubble” while still making money.
RBC analysts predicted that US stocks will rally 17% by the end of 2022 as they shake off the Russia-Ukraine “growth scare.”
In crypto, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried announced that the crypto exchange gave $25 to every Ukrainian user. “Do what you gotta do,” he tweeted as part of the announcement.
Oil prices fell as Western sanctions on Russia so far have avoided its energy industry. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped by more than 1% to $91.82 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 0.8% to $98.28 a barrel.
Gold slipped by 0.63% to 1,891.72 per ounce. The 10-year yield dipped 1 basis point to 1.96%.
Bitcoin inched higher 1.12% to $38,777.00