US: Dow, S&P 500 eke out positive finish to uncertain week

[NEW YORK] The Dow and S&P 500 closed in positive territory on Friday, ending a week in which Wall Street sentiment had see-sawed amid high inflation and the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Nasdaq fell, however, as the gap between long- and short-term US Treasury bonds narrowed, a sign of the uncertainty investors are grappling with as they ponder the prospects for global growth.

"It seems the skyrocketing move higher with commodity prices has taken a break and that has allowed investors a chance to pile back into equities," said Edward Moya of Oanda, a foreign exchange platform.

"Geopolitical risks remain very elevated and the rally in equities over the past two weeks is impressive."

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 per cent at 34,861.24 by the close, while the broad-based S&P 500 had gained 0.5 per cent to end at 4,543.06.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2 per cent to end at 14,169.30.

Markets have been rattled by Russia's invasion of its neighbour Ukraine last month, which has spurred the United States and its allies to impose tough sanctions on Moscow that have prompted prices of commodities like oil to spike.

Wall Street is also watching the Federal Reserve, which last week made the first of several expected interest rate increases this year, as the United States deals with an inflation rate that's higher than it's been in decades.

Tom Martin of Globalt Investments noted that markets have grown used to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's newly hawkish rhetoric towards fighting inflation and are waiting for further signs of how the Ukraine conflict could be hitting the economy.

"We're not really getting a lot of news out of the Russia-Ukraine situation," he said.

"In two to three weeks, we're going to start getting earnings and... those are going to give us somewhat of a window on this new world we find ourselves in post the Russian invasion of Ukraine."

Bed Bath & Beyond closed 2.2 per cent higher after the retailer announced an agreement with activist shareholder Ryan Cohen to add three board members picked by his firm. AFP