Stocks Drop as Russia Standoff Spurs Risk-Off Mode: Markets Wrap
- U.S. says Russia has massed as many as 190,000 personnel
- Fed’s Evans urges major policy shift to counter inflation
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Stocks fell, while bonds climbed at the end of a jittery week marked by tension between the West and Russia as well as worries about the Federal Reserve’s next policy steps.
Equity swings intensified on Friday, with the expiration of options exacerbating moves. In the last hour of trading, the S&P 500 briefly turned positive before resuming its decline as investors took risk off the table ahead of Monday’s U.S. holiday. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled into a “death cross,” a technical pattern that has at times presaged further weakness. Treasury 10-year yields approached 1.9%, while oil posted its first weekly slide in two months. Bitcoin traded near its $40,000 key psychological level.