This was almost looking like a great week for the stock market, but geopolitical news interrupted this positive trend late on Friday morning and markets took a sharp turn for the worse. Reports of Ukrainian troops attacking part of an armored Russian column inside Ukraine sent the financial markets into a spin. This also stirred up more questions about that humanitarian aid convoy in Russia.

PLEASE NOTE: This post was updated at 12:45 p.m. and was updated to reflect the 4:00 PM Closing Bell.

Saturday’s news is still sketchy on what really happened, and Russia even denied sending troops and equipment across the border.

First, 24/7 Wall St. would like to point out that the reports in this matter out of Ukraine and Russia are very incomplete and are not exactly the easiest to confirm. It is a situation where more data may be coming from the Twittersphere and other means rather than from traditional news agencies. That means that accuracy and verification may be impossible for the time being.

The stock market had been enjoying a recovery this week, in part based on a lower degree of tensions in Ukraine and Russia. Market commentary has been added below.

Here are the 4 stocks that weighed on the market the most on Friday. Also, we compiled some of the top stocks hitting 52-week lows as well.

UPDATE CLOSING BELL AFTER 4PM: The S&P 500 closed down only 0.12 at 1,955.06 and the DJIA closed down 50.67 at $16,662.91. The 10-year Treasury was at a 2.35% yield on last look, after having hit a low of just under 2.31%. The Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSEMKT: RSX) closed down only 0.85% at $24.41, on over 15.1 million shares. This was a bit more than impressive – the Templeton Russia and East European Fund (NYSE: TRF) actually closed up $0.05 at $13.88 on the day.

Prior Notes on the Market:

UPDATE 12:45 PM: S&P 500 -5.14 at 1, 950 and DJIA -75.90 at 16,637; 10-year Treasury Note hit a 2014 low yield of 2.31%; Gold is the surprise -$7 at $1,305/ounce. Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSEMKT: RSX) down $0.34, or 1.4%, at $24.28 on over 10.5 million shares already. The DAX in Germany was hit hard, falling another 132.50 to 9,092.60, which takes the DAX down from 10,000 as recently as July 7.

11:20 AM: The U.S. stock market was trading higher prior to these reports. By 11:10 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 was down more than 5 points at just under 1,950. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also down more than 60 points at 16,650.  The 10-year Treasury yield was also back down at 2.35%.

 

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