Wall Street Drops, Oil Prices Jump On Ukraine Worries

Global shares dropped on Friday on rising worries over escalating Ukraine-Russia tensions and the prospect of a tightened interest rate hike timeline from the US Federal Reserve in response to decades-high inflation, Stephen Culp and Chris Prentice reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Losses deepened in volatile trading on Wall Street after Washington said Russia had massed enough troops near Ukraine to launch a major invasion, and urged US citizens to leave the country within 48 hours.

Benchmark Treasury yields lost ground, and German bond yields backed off the 2018 highs struck on Thursday. Gold and oil prices rose.

Losses deepened in volatile trading on Wall Street after Washington said Russia had massed enough troops near Ukraine to launch a major invasion, and urged US citizens to leave the country within 48 hours after Moscow stiffened its response to Western diplomacy.

Rising oil prices boosted energy shares more than 2.8%, though most of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led by technology and consumer discretionary.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) ended down 503.53 points, or 1.43%, at 34,738.06; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 85.44 points, or 1.90%, at 4,418.64; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 394.49 points, or 2.78%, to 13,791.15.

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