By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market struggled for
direction, moving between negative and positive territory Friday,
but indexes were on track to finish the week with the steepest
losses in seven weeks.
Worries over a slowdown in China and a looming referendum in
Crimea compelled investors to seek safe haven assets such as gold
and bonds over the past week.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was 1 point lower at 1,845.60, leaving it
flat for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) shed 9
points, or 0.1%, to 16,099.45.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was 7 points, or 0.2% lower at
4,252.43.
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"Sentiment is all over the place because of the uncertainty from
the outcome in Crimea over the weekend," said Colin Cieszynski,
senior market analyst at CMC Markets. "However, markets are using
geopolitical uncertainty as an excuse to go lower as they are
overly stretched and are due for a correction."
Investors shrugged off reports on wholesale prices and consumer
sentiment. U.S. wholesale prices fell for the first time in three
months, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by
MarketWatch had predicted a 0.2% increase. Consumer sentiment fell
to the lowest reading since November.
Russia-Ukraine conflict, China worries
While global markets have been sensitive to the events in
Ukraine, U.S. equities have showed resilience over the past week.
Some strategists say a crisis in Crimea is already priced in the
markets, while other contend that a vote favoring Russia may become
a catalyst for selling that is overdue. Read: Markets in thin air
as Ukraine, China fears grow.
Worries over China's economy continued to simmer in the
background as well. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch was among several
investment banks that cut the outlook for growth there. It called
for 7.3% growth this year, compared with a previous call of 8%.
Société Générale said "something barely above 7% looks quite
likely."
In overseas markets:
Asian markets had a tough session, as losses for Wall Street
pushed investors into the Japanese yen (USDJPY). The Nikkei 225
index slid 3.3%, while the Hang Seng Index dropped nearly 1%.
European stocks also dropped.
Among commodities, crude-oil prices (CLJ4) rose, gold (GCJ4)
rose and copper prices (HGK4) recovered some lost ground, up
1%.
Ulta Salon rallies; Aeropastale tumbles
Among individual stocks, Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance
Inc. (ULTA) shares added 7.7% after reporting fourth-quarter
earnings late Thursday that squeezed past Wall Street's
estimate.
Aeropostale Inc. (ARO) shares dropped 16% as the teen retailer
late Thursday reported a wider-than-expected adjusted loss in the
fourth quarter.
Shares of General Mills Inc. (GIS) fell 1.6% after the company
released a fresh outlook for the third quarter, saying it sees
third-quarter adjusted earnings of 61 cents to 62 cents a
share.
Shares of Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA) gained 7.5% after the
company late Thursday said it would drop plans to buy the rest of
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI), of which it currently owns 53%.
Liberty Media also said it would reclassify its common stock into
two tracking stocks -- one called Liberty Media Group and the other
called Liberty Broadband Group -- in a move that is expected to be
completed in the third quarter.
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