NEW YORK — Wall Street capped a turbulent week of trading Friday with a broad rally for stocks as relief flowed through the market, even as deadly attacks raged in Ukraine.
Stocks have swung sharply with uncertainty about how much Russia’s invasion will push up inflation, particularly oil and natural gas prices, and drag on the global economy.
Such big swings are likely to continue, with so much uncertainty not only about Ukraine but also about interest rates.
A measure of fear on Wall Street, which shows how worried traders are about upcoming swings in stock prices, fell 9%.
government report showed that that inflation last month was roughly in line with economists’ expectations, though it was still high.
The economic reports could be enough to convince the Federal Reserve to hold off on raising short-term rates next month by double its usual increase, at least for now, said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments.
Still, investors may have been encouraged by looking at how past geopolitical crises, including wars, have affected the stock market.
The Nasdaq composite gained 221.04 points, or 1.6%, to 13,694.62 after swinging between modest gains and losses.
Prices for everything from stocks to Bitcoin have been swinging sharply with the uncertainty about Russia and Ukraine, but the market’s brightest spotlight has perhaps been on oil and natural gas.
Oil prices fell on both sides of the Atlantic, a day after they briefly topped $100 per barrel amid worries that the conflict and upcoming sanctions could disrupt supplies.