The S&P 500 moved between gains and losses on Wednesday, a day after closing in correction territory amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
The Dow Jones Industrials erased 21.94 points, to open Wednesday at 33,574.67.
The S&P 500 sagged 1.55 points to 4,302.79.
The NASDAQ Composite Index lost 19.5 points to 13,361.02
As of Friday 78% of S&P 500 companies that have reported have topped earnings estimates, while 78% have exceeded revenue expectations.
Home retailing giant Lowe’s rose more than 4% after beating earnings forecasts and announcing sales rose 5%.
Investors are also facing concerns about record inflation and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy pivot which could result is rate hikes as soon as next month.
On Tuesday afternoon President Joe Biden announced a first tranche of sanctions against Russia. The measures target Russian banks, the country’s sovereign debt and three individuals.
Wall Street is betting that there’s a 100% chance of a rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s March meeting. With inflation running hot, calls for a 50-basis point hike at the March meeting had been accelerating.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 1.97% from Tuesday’s 1.95%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices jumped $1.38 to $93.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on 80 cents to $1,908.20.