Stocks fell on Thursday after a key economic report showed another 40-year high CPI print and the uncertainties surround the Russia-Ukraine war continued as peace talks failed to bring a ceasefire. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 100 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.4% and 1%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Goldman to exit Russia in response to war with Ukraine:
Goldman Sachs
"Goldman Sachs is winding down its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements," the company said in a statement, quoted by CNBC. "We are focused on supporting our clients across the globe in managing or closing out pre-existing obligations in the market and ensuring the well-being of our people."
The bank will continue to trade corporate debt linked to Russia without itself making bets on price movements, Bloomberg reports.
"In our role as market-maker standing between buyers and sellers, we are helping our clients reduce their risk in Russian securities which trade in the secondary market, not seeking to speculate," the bank added.
Jobless claims unexpectedly tick higher:
Weekly jobless claims climbed higher-than-expected last week as the labor market works to recover from a spike in unemployment filings due to the Omicron variant at the start of the year.
Initial unemployment claims for the week ended March 5 totaled 227,000, according to the Labor Department's latest print published Thursday, rising from the previous week's upwardly revised total of 216,000. Moreover, continuing jobless claims also unexpectedly rose, totaled 1.494 million for the week ended Feb. 26. That print was above the prior week's downwardly revised total of 1.469 million.
Inflation rose 7.9% in February, topping January's red hot gain:
Inflationary pressures grew worse in February as lingering supply chain disruptions and high demand continued to impact the broader economy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the price of a wide basket of goods and services, rose 7.9% in February over the past 12 months, marking a fresh 40-year high following January's record print of 7.5%. On a month-over-month basis, the CPI gained was 0.8%, also above expectations.
Beneath the headline, food prices rose 1% and food at home jumped 1.4%, both posting the fastest monthly gains since April 2020. Energy prices also soared 3.5%, accounting for about one-third of the headline gain, while shelter costs rose by 0.5% of an annual gain of 4.7%--its fastest since May 1991.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading after opening bell:
S&P 500 Index: -1.00% or -42.94 points to 4,234.94
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.07% or -357.53 points to 32,928.72
Nasdaq Composite Index: -1.23% or -163.42 points to 13,092.13
