Stock futures moved lower in the overnight trading hours of Thursday amid fears of stronger aggression from Russia against Ukraine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 0.55%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.52% and 0.36%, respectively, as of 3.40 A.M. EST.
Notably, Russian forces seized Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine in the wee hours of Friday, causing a fire outbreak in a training facility nearby. This led to a new wave of fear among investors who were awake at night monitoring the developments in Ukraine. The radiation levels, however, have been contained and are under control.
This decline came ahead of February’s jobs report, scheduled to be reported on Friday.
The Dow Jones expects an addition of 440,000 positions in February and a 3.9% drop in the unemployment rate. Moreover, hourly wages are expected to grow 5.8% year-over-year. This component of the report is crucial, as it will give more clarity to the Fed’s policy strategy.
However, the worsening situation in Ukraine, the burgeoning prices of oil and gas, and inflation worry more than offset the positive labor market outlook. At Thursday’s market close, the Dow Jones (DJIA), S&P 500 (SPX), and Nasdaq 100 (NDX) indexes were down 0.29%, 0.53%, and 1.46% respectively.
Download the TipRanks mobile app now
To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.