Nasdaq, S&P 500 slip as tech drags at end of choppy week

Meta shares drop as Russia opens criminal probe; all three major indexes tracking weekly losses

The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes fell on Friday at the end of a volatile week on escalating tensions in Ukraine and worries over higher inflation, with focus turning to one of the most-anticipated Federal Reserve's policy meetings next week.

Markets had opened higher after Russian President Vladimir Putin said there were "certain positive shifts" in talks with Ukraine, without providing any details.

"That suggests at this point in time even though there was a statement from Putin and he said it was positive, there's still not a whole lot of trust that it is officially going to be followed through upon," said Brian Shepardson, portfolio manager at James Investment.

"I don't think that a lot of people want to be extremely long going into the weekend, unable to change their portfolios dramatically should (Putin) make any changes late Friday night, early Saturday morning."

Russian forces bearing down on Kyiv are regrouping northwest of the Ukrainian capital, satellite pictures showed, in what Britain said could be preparation for an assault on the city within days.

Megacap growth companies Apple Inc and Tesla Inc slipped 2.3% and 4.8%, respectively, to weigh the most on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes.

Meta Platforms shares fell 3.5% as Russia opened a criminal case against Facebook's parent after the social network changed its hate speech rules to allow users to call for "death to the Russian invaders" in the context of the war with Ukraine.

Tech-heavy growth stocks also came under pressure from U.S.

10-year Treasury yield hovering near 2%, as expectations for an interest rate hike by the Fed at its March 15-16 meeting were largely cemented after a hot inflation data on Thursday.

"It's safe to bet that the Fed is going to take the middle ground and not sound uber hawkish next week. They find themselves in a very tough situation because the inflationary pressures are strong in the near term," said Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management.

Traders see a 95% chance for a 25 basis point hike by the U.S. central bank.

At 12:27 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.82 points, or 0.16%, to 33,227.89, the S&P 500 lost 15.23 points, or 0.36%, to 4,244.29 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 150.45 points, or 1.15%, to 12,979.51.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors declined. Energy shares slipped 0.4%, but were set for their third straight weekly gain on a recent surge in crude oil prices.

Financials and materials shares both advanced 0.3%.

A survey showed on Friday that U.S. consumer sentiment fell more than expected in early March as gasoline prices soared to a record high in the aftermath of the crisis in Ukraine.

All the major indexes are tracking a weekly decline, with the blue-chip Dow eyeing its fifth straight weekly loss.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.5-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and 267 new lows.