S&P 500 Struggles for Direction as Ukraine Crisis, Inflation Jitters Weigh By Investing.com

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com — The S&P 500 struggled for direction Thursday, as investors piled into defensive sectors of the market amid ongoing concern Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will add to the red-hot pace of inflation that could hurt the economy.

The fell 0.64%, the fell 0.4%, or 119 points, the fell 1.7%.

Utilities, a defensive corner of the market, was the biggest sector gainer as investors mulled the prospect of further inflation pressures following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as prices for oil, wheat and precious metals trend higher.

The five-year breakeven rate on Treasury inflation protected securities – a closely watched gauge of inflation expectations — jumped  to 3.23%, a record high.

U.S. oil prices briefly rose to $116 a barrel intraday, pushing gas prices above $5 a gallon in some parts of the U.S.

In testimony on Thursday, Powell said inflation the upward pressure on inflation was expected continue for “at least awhile” and flagged the risk that the Ukraine crisis will prolonged supply chain problems, which have been a key driver of inflation.

“It is not going to help at all with supply chains, because ships are not being offloaded,” Powell said in testimony before the Senate on Thursday.

There was some progress on the Ukraine-Russia talks, meanwhile, as both sides agreed to reportedly agreed to organize safe passages to evacuate civilians and to deliver humanitarian supplies.

French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly warned, however, that “the worst is still to come” in Ukraine as Putin is hellbent on taking “full control” through either diplomatic or military measures.

Tech stocks struggled to add to their gains from a day earlier, with big tech mostly lower, while semiconductor heavyweights like NVIDIA (NASDAQ:), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:) and Intel also weighed on the sector.

Intel (NASDAQ:) fell more than 1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight and cut the price target to $47 from $55, citing “more actionable opportunities elsewhere.”

While the longer term turnaround capability in Intel’s core business is a positive, the “next couple of years are likely to see the stock move sideways and we see more actionable opportunities elsewhere in our coverage,” {{Morgan Stanley said.}}

Snowflake (NYSE:) slumped 18% after reporting fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates, but guidance fell short, stoking concerns of slowing growth ahead.

Best Buy (NYSE:) jumped more than 9% despite quarterly revenue and full-year guidance below analysts estimates.  

Kroger (NYSE:) surged 10% after reporting earnings per share of $0.91 and revenue of $33.1 billion that beat estimates of $0.74 and $32.9 billion respectively, while guidance was also stronger than expected.