Stocks Extend Fall Ahead of Long-Weekend
5:02 pm Friday, February 18th, 2022
U.S. stock indexes slumped on Friday as escalating tensions in Ukraine amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion prompted investors to dump risky assets in the run-up to a long weekend.
All 11 S&P 500 sectors are trading lower with losses ranging from 0.3% (consumer staples) to 1.4% (information technology and consumer discretionary). The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is a weak spot with a 2.1% decline.
While Russia and the U.S. have a tentative meeting next week should Russia not invade Ukraine, the fact that there’s a three-day weekend for the market has kept buyers sidelined in an anxious mood. U.S. officials, according to The Wall Street Journal, say the prospects for averting war appear very dim.
In addition, the growth stocks just can’t catch a break. Roku (ROKU), DraftKings (DKNG), and Redfin (RDFN) are showing material losses following their earnings report and/or guidance while Shake Shack (SHAK) is down modestly in comparison.
Separately, the Fedspeak continues to ramp up with the central bank’s next policy meeting less than a month away.
Elsewhere, the Treasury market continues to display some safe-haven positioning. The 10-yr yield is down five basis points to 1.92%, extending its two-day decline to 13 basis points. The 2-yr yield is down two basis points to 1.45%. The U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.3% to 96.11.
Existing home sales increased 6.7% m/m in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.50 million (consensus 6.08 million). Total sales in January were down 2.3% from a year ago.
