US stocks close higher in wake of US-Russia talks on Ukraine war

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stock markets closed with gains Tuesday.

Russia and the US held their first high-level talks in years on ending the war in Ukraine and improving ties in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh.

Following the developments, the dollar index increased to 106.9 and the US 10-year treasury bond yield rose to 4.55%.

On the macroeconomic data side, the US economy grew by 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024, below expectations.

Inflation in the US came in at 3% annually and 0.5% monthly in January, both surpassing estimates.

The US economy added 143,000 jobs in January, much less than market estimates of 169,000, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4% in January.

The number of people in the country applying for unemployment benefits for the first time fell by 7,000 to 213,000 last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.02%, or 10.26 points, to end the day at 44,556.34.

The S&P 500 rose 0.24%, or 14.95 points, to 6,129.58, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.07%, or 14.49 points, to 20,041.26.

Last week, stock markets saw a continuous surge as President Donald Trump proposed reciprocal tariffs on nations that impose levies on US goods, which calmed investors, who were concerned that the tariffs would be more severe.