Major Averages Close Modestly Lower Ahead Of Crimea Referendum

(RTTNews) - While trading activity was relatively subdued throughout the session on Friday, stocks ended the choppy trading day modestly lower. The drop on the day extended the sharp pullback that was seen over the course of the previous session.

The modestly lower close on Wall Street partly reflected uncertainty about the situation in Ukraine, with the Crimea region preparing to hold a referendum Sunday on whether to secede and rejoin Russia.

The U.S. and other western nations have said they will not recognize the outcome of the referendum, citing the lack of adequate preparation and the intimidating presence of Russian troops.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a six-hour meeting in London to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, but they were unable to reach an agreement to address the escalating tensions.

Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.

While some weakness was visible among banking, computer hardware, and biotech stocks, tobacco, steel, and gold stocks moved to the upside.

The major averages finished in the red, near their worst levels of the day. The Dow dipped 43.22 points or 0.3 percent to 16,065.67, the Nasdaq slid 15.02 points or 0.4 percent to 4,245.40 and the S&P 500 edged down 5.21 points or 0.3 percent to 1,841.13.

For the week, the major averages all posted notable losses. The Dow tumbled by 2.4 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 dropped by 2.1 percent and 2 percent, respectively.