Stock futures declined after Western officials said they weren’t seeing a de-escalation on the Ukrainian border, despite Moscow’s claims of troop withdrawals.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 fell 0.6% Thursday, pointing to a drop in the broad index, after it gained 1.3% for the week. Futures for the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 declined 0.7%.
Stocks have come under pressure from the escalation in tensions between Russia and Western allies over Ukraine. The White House warned that a Russian invasion could be imminent, and diplomatic efforts have so far been inconclusive. Moscow said thatit had pulled back some troops,which spurred a rally in markets earlier in the week. Western officials said Wednesday that Russia was actually continuing its military buildup.
“We’ve got to put more focus on what’s being done on the ground, rather than what’s being said,” said Paul Jackson, global head of asset allocation research at Invesco. “My presumption is that this will be sorted out diplomatically. If markets go down a lot more, then I would think it would be an opportunity to buy.”
Oil prices wavered. Global benchmark Brent crude fell 1.1% to $93.75 a barrel, after rising in the Asian session, as traders monitored the Russia-Ukraine situation.
The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.003% Thursday from 2.044% on Wednesday.
The Russian ruble weakened 0.7% against the dollar. The currency has seesawed in recent days as investors tried to gauge the severity of the tensions. It is currently down 1% for the year.
U.S. earnings season is ongoing, with Walmart and Palantir Technologies set to report ahead of the opening bell. Cisco Systems rose 3.5% in off-hours trading after reporting revenue and earnings that came above Wall Street’s expectations, plus a $15 billion increase to its stock buyback program. Nvidia slipped 2.6% despite the chip company reporting record salesand forecast another rise in revenue. Its automotive segment declined as supply-chain constraints weighed on production.
Toy maker Has brooff hours rose 3% after anactivist investor began a proxy fightand pushed for a spinoff.
The latest data on jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, is set to go out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists are expecting claims to continue to edge down as the tight labor market moves past Omicron-related disruptions.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ticked down 0.1%. Shares of Kering rose 6% after it reported earnings well above the pre-pandemic period, driven by a strong performance by its core brand Gucci. Commerzbankclimbed 5% after the German bank swung back to net profit, beating analysts’ expectations.
In Asia, major benchmarks were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index was little changed, rising less than 0.1% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.8%.
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