Stocks pull back on Thursday as Russia-Ukraine cease-fire hopes fade andoil prices jump.- Oil prices returned to the $100-a-barrel mark with IEA warning of global supply shock on Russian oil disruption.
Stocks declined Thursday, giving back some gains made in the previous session, as investors' hopes for a halt in
Wall Street's benchmark equity indexes fell following reports Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied a Financial Times report about major progress in cease-fire talks with Ukraine but he said talks were ongoing.
Thursday's stock market was also weighed down by resurgent oil prices, with futures for the commodity returning above $100 a barrel after the International Energy Agency said about 3 million barrels a day of Russian oil output could be shut in from April. US dollar-denominated oil prices were also higher on dollar weakness after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday delivered its long-anticipated interest-rate hike of 25 basis points.
Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 4,343.71, down 0.32%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,933.87, down 0.38% (129.23 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,352.35, down 0.64%
Stocks on Thursday were little changed after the Labor Department said weekly claims for unemployment benefits fell by 15,000 to 214,000. With still-solid demand for labor, claims were below the Econoday consensus call of 221,000.
"Investors should brace for continued inflation and volatility in the immediate term. Portfolios would benefit from inflation-protection exposures, such as TIPS and commodities, as well as investments that tend to do well in inflationary environments, such as cyclical stocks," said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments, in a note to Insider.
Oil prices climbed. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 6% to $100.73 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 6.2% to $104.14 per barrel.
The Bank of England raised interest rates for the third time, up 25 basis points to 0.75%, as policymakers see inflation rising to around 8%. It also said economic growth will likely slow for net energy importers such as the UK.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway pushed $1 billion into Occidental Petroleum over three days this week, bringing its bet to a total of $7 billion on the energy stock in 11 trading days.
The S&P 500 is likely to lose ground over the next month following the Federal Reserve's interest-rate increase before seeing gains several months down the road, according to CFRA.
Gold prices rose 1.8% to $1,943.10 per ounce.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell six basis points to 2.14%.
Bitcoin jumped up 4.6% to $41,150.47.