By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - U.S. stock futures moved lower in early APAC deals on Monday as investors continued to remain cautious amid an escalating geopolitical conflict in Ukraine as Russian military vehicles entered Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv over the weekend, with reports of fighting taking place and residents being warned to stay in shelters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also put his country’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert Sunday amid a growing global backlash against the invasion. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said representatives for Ukraine and Russia have agreed to meet on the Ukraine-Belarus border “with no preconditions.”
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 834.92 points or 2.51% to 34058.76, the S&P 500 gained 2.24% to 4384.64 and the NASDAQ Composite added 221.04 points or 1.64% to 13694.62. For the week, the Dow lifted 0.27%, the S&P 500 rose 1.28% and Nasdaq added 2.07%.
Dow Jones Futures were down 1.33%, S&P 500 Futures fell 2% and Nasdaq 100 Futures dipped 2.27%.
Among stocks, technology companies advanced during Friday’s session, as Block Inc (NYSE:SQ) surged 26.14% after results, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) lifted 1.61%, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 0.92%, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB) gained 1.39%, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) gained 1.33%, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) climbed 3.82% and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added 1.3%.
EV makers were mostly higher, with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) up 1.14%, Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) falling 0.44% and Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ:LCID) up 4.23%.
Big bankers also recovered ground, with JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) up 2.37%, Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG) adding 4.95%, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) up 3.26%, Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) adding 2.16%, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) up 2.66% and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) lifting 2.98%.
On the bond markets, United States 10-Year yields were at 1.969%.
Ahead in the week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress twice, with market participants closely monitoring any signal on whether geopolitical events are likely to impact Fed rate hikes.