US stock markets ended the day lower after a bumpy ride on Thursday as traders considered the effects of the escalating conflict in Ukraine on central bank policy.
Wall Street indices and stock markets across Europe fell after Russia subjected the Ukrainian port of Mariupol and the cities of Chernihiv and Kharkiv to relentless missile bombardment. Investors abandoned riskier assets, pulling money from US stocks, in particular those in the tech sector.
Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 1.6 per cent, while the blue-chip S&P 500 index fell 0.5 per cent. In Europe, the regional Stoxx 600 index closed down 2 per cent, with heavy falls across companies most affected by anticipated higher costs of oil, metals and foodstuffs produced in Russia and Ukraine.