Dow falls again amid worries over Russia, inflation
The Dow finished lower for the sixth straight session on Thursday as markets weighed worries about an escalation of the Ukraine war with ongoing angst over inflation and interest rates. Another volatile round of trading concluded with two of the three indices in the red as data on wholesale prices showed that price increases eased in April compared with the prior month, but still were 11 percent higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, analysts expressed alarm over Russia's combative response to Finland's efforts to join Nato in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine. "Helsinki should be aware of its responsibility and the consequences of such a move," Russia's foreign ministry said. The Dow Jones finished at 31,730, recovering about 500 points from its low for the session, but still 0.3 percent below Wednesday's close. The S&P 500 shed 0.1 percent to end at 3,930, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.1 percent to 11,370. "Some traders on Wall Street believe that a stock market bottom is nearing, but confidence in that call is not really high," said Oanda's Edward Moya. He pointed to inflation, Ukraine uncertainty and China's Covid-19 policy as factors pressuring sentiment, preventing "some investors from taking advantage of the massive discounts across the stock market." Among individual companies, Disney declined 0.9 percent after it reported lower profits but saw increases in subscribers to its streaming services, and improvement in its parks business. Analysts cited cautious commentary from the company about the second half of 2022. Rivian Automotive jumped 18 percent despite reporting a hefty loss as the electric truck maker signalled it was on track to lift production later this year. (AFP)