Stock market news live updates: S&P 500, Dow notch second week of gains, Nasdaq falters as bond yields rise

U.S. stocks were mixed Friday but closed mostly higher for the week after a streak of up and down days on Wall Street as investors further mulled the path forward for interest rates and a host of new sanctions against Russia.

The S&P 500 was up 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average registered a 150-point, or about 0.4%, gain, with both benchmarks logging a second straight week of gains. The Nasdaq Composite climbed back from session lows but closed just below breakeven after the index was dragged down by sales of tech stocks as bond yields climbed. The 10-year Treasury benchmark rose to yield 2.5%.

Developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine remained in focus as President Joe Biden met with NATO allies in Europe. The U.S. leveled a fresh set of sanctions against Russia and vowed to provide more aid to Ukraine. Biden also said he would support removing Russia from the G20.

Despite the ongoing geopolitical conflict, stocks have remained relatively resilient this week in the face of upbeat economic data and a chorus of commentary from Federal Reserve officials reiterating the central bank’s more hawkish path forward to rein in inflation. In one of the latest datapoints underscoring the ultra-tight labor market, weekly jobless claims set the lowest level since 1969 last week, as companies held onto their existing workers amid widespread labor shortages.

Against this backdrop — and with inflation running at the hottest level in 40 years — central bankers have stepped up talk of tightening monetary policy. Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said Thursday he was “open” to the notion of a 50 basis-point interest rate hike at a forthcoming Fed meeting if needed. This echoed remarks from other Fed policymakers including San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, who said earlier this week that if the Fed needed to do 50 basis points, then “50 is what we’ll do.” Fed Chair Jerome Powell earlier this week also signaled a willingness to roll out a larger-than-typical 50-basis point rate hike to address inflation, if deemed necessary.

While prospects of higher interest rates and tighter financial conditions were met with consternation among investors and choppiness in markets earlier this year, traders have begun to digest the prospects of a more hawkish Fed. Still, some strategists cautioned that volatility would likely still be in the cards in the near-term.

“We remain pretty bullish on the market overall but I do think that volatility is here to stay,” Ross Mayfield, Baird investment strategy analyst, told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday.

“As far as catalysts, there’s a lot of stuff out there. There’s war in Ukraine. The market’s not moving as much on the day-to-day headlines there, but it doesn’t mean that there still couldn’t be a major catalyst from that event, either to the upside or the downside,” Mayfield added. “The Fed — we’ve got a pretty good picture of what they’re planning on doing, but any hints as we get towards May about 50 basis point rate hikes or balance sheet reduction or what that might look like could be a catalyst.”

Others offered a similar take.

“There has been quite a bit of bearish sentiment. We see money managers holding excess cash — more than normal, almost 6% on average in cash,” Loreen Gilbert, WealthWise Financial CEO, told Yahoo Finance Live. “I do not think the volatility is over. While we’re happy about some good market bounces on the upside, we’re looking also to see what’s going to happen going forward.”

4:00 p.m. ET: S&P 500, Dow close higher for the week; Nasdaq falls on rising bond yields

Here’s how the main benchmarks closed out the trading week:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): +22.90 (+0.51%) to 4,543.06
• Dow (^DJI): +153.76 (+0.44%) to 34,861.70
• Nasdaq (^IXIC): -22.54 (-0.16%) to 14,169.30
• Crude (CL=F): +$0.68 (+0.61%) to $113.02 a barrel
• Gold (GC=F): -$7.90 (-0.40%) to $1,954.30 per ounce
• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +15.1 bps to yield 2.4920%

11:32 a.m. ET: Nasdaq falls 1.1%, S&P 500 and Dow falter into the red

Here were the main moves in markets as of 11:31 a.m. ET:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): -11.44 (-0.25%) to 4,508.72
• Dow (^DJI): -29.40 (-0.08%) to 34,678.54
• Nasdaq (^IXIC): -156.20 (-1.10%) to 14,035.64
• Crude (CL=F): -$0.32 (-0.28%) to $112.02 a barrel
• Gold (GC=F): -$6.20 (-0.32%) to $1,956.00 per ounce
• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +15.6 bps to yield 2.4970%

10:15 a.m. ET: Consumer sentiment declines as inflation rises

The University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment index for March fell to 59.4 from a preliminary reading of 59.7 and 62.8 in the prior month.

Economist forecasts ranged from 58.0 to 60.5 across 42 estimates, according to Bloomberg data.

The survey saw more consumers report reduced living standards due to rising inflation than any other time except during the two worst recessions in the past fifty years: from March 1979 to April 1981, and from May to October 2008, the University of Michigan said.

The only area of the economy that reflected some consumer optimism was the strong job market.

10:10 a.m. ET: Pending home sales fall for fourth consecutive month

The U.S. housing market is finally showing signs of a cool down.

Pending home sales, a leading indicator of the health of the housing market, declined for the fourth straight month in February.

The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index fell 4.1% last month from January and dropped 5.4% from the same month a year ago. The gauge tracks the number of homes that are under contract to be sold.

Bloomberg analysts predicted a 1.0% increase in sales from a month earlier, according to consensus estimates.

“Pending transactions diminished in February mainly due to the low number of homes for sale,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, in a press statement. “Buyer demand is still intense, but it’s as simple as ‘one cannot buy what is not for sale.’”

9:52 a.m. ET: Salesforce to drop ‘.com’ in legal name change

Salesforce (CRM) said it will change its legal name to Salesforce, Inc. from Salesforce.com, inc., effective April 4.

Shares of the company were down 0.43% to $213.06 a piece as of 9:51 a.m. ET.

The company’s common stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker CRM and under the same CUSIP/ISIN number.

9:50 a.m. ET: Bed Bath & Beyond reaches settlement with GameStop ape Ryan Cohen

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) is has reached a settlement with GameStop executive chairman Ryan Cohen. The deal will see three board members immediately added to Bed Bath & Beyond: Marjorie L. Bowen, Shelly C. Lombard, and Ben Rosenzweig.

Cohen, founder of the online pet goods retailer Chewy, disclosed a 9.8% stake in Bed Bath & Beyond earlier in March.

Bowen and Rosenzweig will join a four-member committee focused on exploring alternatives to unlock value from the company’s buybuy BABY banner.

Shares of BBBY were up 3.35% in early trading Friday to $22.84 a piece as of 9:48 a.m. ET.

In a letter to Bed Bath & Beyond, Cohen said the company’s execution under CEO Mark Tritton has bordered on terrible, compensation is not realistic and the business should be split up (Buy Buy Baby business sold off) and then sold entirely to financial sponsors (private equity).

“We have carefully assessed Bed Bath’s assets, balance sheet, corporate governance, executive compensation, existing strategy and potential alternatives,” Cohen said in a letter obtained by Yahoo Finance. “While we like Bed Bath’s brand and capital allocation policy, we have concerns about leadership’s compensation relative to performance and its strategy for reigniting meaningful growth.”

9:30 a.m. ET: Stocks open in the green following Thursday’s gains

Here were the main moves in markets at the start of Friday’s session:

• S&P 500 (^GSPC): +6.95 (+0.15%) to 4,527.11
• Dow (^DJI): +72.28 (+0.21%) to 34,780.22
• Nasdaq (^IXIC): -7.95 (-0.06%) to 14,183.89
• Crude (CL=F): -$2.67 (-2.38%) to $109.67 a barrel
• Gold (GC=F): -$11.40 (-0.58%) to $1,950.80 per ounce
• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +4.4 bps to yield 2.3850%

7:10 a.m. ET: Contracts on main indexes hover near flatline ahead of main trading session

Here were the main moves in markets at in pre-market trading Friday:

• S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +9.00 points (+0.20%) to 4,521.50
• Dow futures (YM=F): +58.00 points (+0.17%) to 34,662.00
• Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): +31.75 points (+0.22%) to 14,795.50
• Crude (CL=F): -$1.68 (-1.50%) to $110.66 a barrel
• Gold (GC=F): -$11.20 (-0.57%) to $1,951.00 per ounce
• 10-year Treasury (^TNX): 0.00 bps to yield 2.3410%

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6:10 p.m. ET Thursday: Stock futures open little changed

Here’s where the major stock index futures opened Thursday evening:

• S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +2.25 points (+0.05%) to 4,514.75
• Dow futures (YM=F): +31 points (+0.09%) to 34,635.00
• Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): -2.75 points (-0.02%) to 14,761.00