U.S. stocks stumble late Friday, Dow books worst weekly stretch of losses in nearly 3 years

U.S. stocks slid into the closing bell on Friday, giving up earlier gains, and leaving the Dow down for five straight weeks as America and its allies looked to ratchet up economic pressure against Moscow to hopefully force the worsening conflict in Ukraine to a swifter end. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 230 points, or 0.7%, on Friday to end below 33,000. It also booked the longest weekly stretch of losses for the blue-chip index since May 2019, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Traders appeared more skittish about holding risk heading into the weekend, after President Joe Biden on Friday called for a suspension of normal trade relations with Russia as part of sanctions designed to economically isolate Moscow, after the U.S. already banned its crude imports. Moves to squeeze the Russia economy also have led to a global commodity shock, including with U.S. oil near $109 a barrel on Friday. The S&P 500 index shed 1.3% Friday and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.2%y. For the week, the Dow lost 2%, the S&P 500 2.9% and the Nasdaq shed 3.5%.

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