Investors see volatile market after Russia’s attack
(NewsNation Now) — Investors are dealing with an incredible amount of uncertainty resulting from Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and the fallout from rising energy prices, creating a market that’s going to be volatile for the foreseeable future.
Stock futures were down slightly on Friday morning following a stunning market reversal on Thursday, where all of the major indices closed in positive territory despite having one of the worst mornings of the year.
The Dow fell more than 800 points Thursday but still ended the day just slightly in the green. Also closing higher were the S & P as well as Nasdaq. However, the Dow is 10% off its January record-high numbers.
There was a boost after investors appeared to start buying up the most battered tech stocks, with Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft surging.
Global oil on Thursday closed at $99.35 a barrel, when it previously came close to $106. That was the first time it’s topped triple digits since 2014.
People are already seeing the effects at the gas pump.
For the U.S., the average for regular unleaded, is now $3.57, a $.05 increase from the start of the week.
European energy prices, because they are so closely tied to Russia in Ukraine, surged more than they did in the U.S. The spot price in Europe for natural gas soared more than 50%.
With energy and food prices getting higher, worries about inflation have been amplified, which in January was at the hottest level that’s it’s been in a couple of generations.