Late Slide Sinks U.S. Markets On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. stock markets were unable to hold on to early gains on Thursday, opening solidly higher but fading as the day progressed before ending firmly in negative territory for the third straight session.

For the day, the Dow plummeted 313.26 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 34,715.39, while the NASDAQ plunged 186.23 points or 1.30 percent to close at 14,154.02 and the S&P 500 sank 50.03 points or 1.10 percent to end at 4,482.73.

The early gains on Wall Street came as investors scooped up bargains following the two-day slide that carried the markets further away from recent record closing highs - but by the end of the day, rising bond yields and interest rate concerns dragged the markets into the red.

Most analysts believe a rate hike of at least 25 basis points from the FOMC is imminent in March.

Also, minutes from the European Central Bank's latest policy session showed on Thursday that the current spike in inflation is being driven by temporary factors that are likely to ease in the course of this year, although inflation could remain elevated.

Oil prices eased on Thursday, after having hit a seven-year high in the previous session on demand optimism and news of short-term supply disruptions.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $0.67 or 0.77 percent to $86.29 per barrel. Investors booked profits after industry data showed U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose last week.

Meanwhile, the flow of crude oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has resumed, after it was halted on Tuesday due to a blast near the pipeline in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, officials said.

Gold prices ticked higher again on Thursday around a two-month high on concerns surrounding inflation and geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Spot gold climbed $2.54 or 0.14 percent to $1,840.96 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,840.

Ahead of next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting, U.S. President Joe Biden backed the central bank's plans to scale back stimulus, saying taming inflation is a critical job for the Federal Reserve.