Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday,
a day after a broad jump broke a three-day losing streak.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.9% as of 10.19 am Eastern
Time Zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 248 points, or 0.7%, to
34,743 and the Nasdaq fell 1.4%.

Tech stocks were the heaviest weights pulling the broader
market down. Microsoft fell 1.9% and Facebook’s parent, Meta, shed 2.4%.

Bond yields edged lower. The yield on the 10-year
Treasury dropped to 2.03% from 2.04% late Tuesday.

Investors have been worried about the rising conflict
between Russia and Ukraine. The markets rallied on Tuesday after Russia claimed
to remove some of its troops amassed on the Ukraine border. Markets remain
volatile as NATO officials and the West cast doubt on Russia’s claim.

Energy prices have been particularly volatile so far this
week. Russia is a major energy producer and military action that disrupts
supplies could shock markets and global industries.

US benchmark crude oil prices rose 2.2%, reversing course
from a 3.6% slump on Tuesday. Energy stocks gained ground on the reversal.
Phillips 66 surged 1.5%.

European markets were mostly lower.

Markets saw a short-term boost when the American
government reported the surge in retail sales by 3.8% last month, higher than
most projections. That compared to the prior month when sales slid 2.5%.

Investors are also eyeing the latest round of corporate
earnings to gauge how companies are handling supply chain problems and pressure
from rising inflation.

Airbnb rose 2.5% after posting strong financial results. DoorDash
will report its latest results on Wednesday afternoon and Walmart will report
its results on Thursday.

Investors also have their eye on the latest round of
corporate earnings, including DoorDash on Wednesday and Walmart on Thursday.

In energy trading, US benchmark crude was up by $1.28 to
$93.35 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, It
slipped 3.6% on Tuesday. The international benchmark for crude oil settled
$1.51 higher to $94.79 per barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar moved up to 115.64
Japanese yen from 115.63 yen. The euro cost $1.1370, up from $1.1362.