Stocks finished mixed Friday, while oil prices steadied as investors closed out a volatile week for stocks marked by continued fighting in Ukraine, economic fallout from the war and surging interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 153 points, or 0.44%, to 34,861, while the S&P 500, which is down 5.4% for the year, gained 0.51%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.16%.
"Geopolitical risks remain very elevated and the rally in equities over the past two weeks is impressive," Edward Moya, senior market analyst for the Americas with Oanda, said. "The US economy is still in good shape, but buying every stock market dip probably won't be the attitude for most traders going forward given how hawkish the Fed has turned."
Apple (AAPL) and other big tech stocks were more muted as European Union lawmakers signaled the launch of a broad array of rules aimed at reigning in the influence of some of the world's biggest companies.
EU Competition Commissioner Antitrust Margrethe Vestager told reporters in Brussels Friday that the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which was first unveiled last year, is likely to be enacted in October, with tech companies that compile customer data while controlling access to their platforms having around six months to comply with the new rules, or face fines of as much as 20% of global revenues for repeat offenders.
Apple shares finished slightly higher at $174.72 each, while Google (GOOGL) gained modestly to $2,830.43 each.
President Joe Biden, who held a series of summits with EU, G-7 and NATO leaders yesterday, traveled to Poland on Friday for a first-hand look at the region's refugee crisis, which has displaced more than 10 million people, United Nations officials have estimated.
Biden, who unveiled a series of sanctions on Russian lawmakers yesterday, also agreed to boost natural gas exports to Europe to around 15 billion cubic meters per year, a figure that would ease the region's reliance on Russian exports by around one-third.
Oil prices, which have swung wildly for most of the week, were rising Friday, with WTI crude futures for May delivery up 39 cents from yesterday's close to change hands at $112.70 per barrel while Brent contracts for the same month were up 39 cents at $119.40 per barrel.
Still, with oil prices up more than 52% so far this year, the broader commodity complex is on pace for its best annual gains since 1915, according to data from Bank of America's 'Flow Show' report, which charted another $2.1 billion worth of funds into gold investments over the past week.
U.S.-listed cannabis stocks were also active, and surging higher, following a report that suggested lawmakers could vote on legislation that would legalize the use of marijuana nationwide as early as next week.
Tilray (TLRY) shares surged 22.8% higher following reports of the House vote to indicate an opening bell price of $7.48 each, while Canopy Growth (CGC) gained 10% to $8.69 each. Rival Aurora Cannabis (ACB) jumped 10.4% higher at $4.60 each.
Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares gained 2.2% after the home goods retailer reached a deal with activist investor Ryan Cohen to add new members to the board and explore the sale of its buybuy Baby division.
Okta (OKTA) shares extended their recent slump, falling 4.4%, as police in Britain arrested seven suspects linked to a hacking group that compromised the access management and cloud identity group's systems earlier this year.
City of London police told Reuters Friday that seven suspects, believed to be between the ages of 16 and 21, were detailed and release pending investigation into both the Okta hack as well as an earlier attack on the systems of chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA).
Boeing (BA) shares were marked 0.5% lower amid reports that the the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration may not certify a lengthened version of the 737 MAX before a deadline set by Congress earlier this year.
Boeing shares have also been sensitive to headlines linked to the fatal crash of a 737-800 aircraft in China, where authorities continue to search for the flight recorder of the China Eastern Airlines jet that went down Monday, killing as 132 passengers and crew on board.
