Holiday, Russia Allegations Weigh On US Markets

All three indices were solidly positive at mid-day, but slid sharply after US Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three companies accused of running a secret campaign to tilt the 2016 presidential election.

The declines coincided with that news, but markets tend to pull back ahead of long holiday weekends as investors pare down risk-oriented assets, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.

US financial markets are closed Monday for the President's Day holiday.

Stocks have clawed back a good portion of the losses suffered over a six-day stretch following the US jobs report released February 2, which ignited concerns that the Federal Reserve would accelerate interest rate increases to stem rising inflation.

"The pace of the correction we saw dictated the pace of the recovery," said Hogan, adding that he expects 2018 to be much more volatile than the unusually placid 2017. (AFP)