Dow jumps over 800 points in its best day since late 2020

NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks surged on Friday with the Dow logging its best day in over a year, as Wall Street closely followed updates on the Russia-Ukraine tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 834.92 points, or 2.51 percent, to 34,058.75, notching its best daily gain since November 2020. The S&P 500 rose 95.95 points, or 2.24 percent, to 4,384.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 221.03 points, or 1.64 percent, to 13,694.62.

All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed noticeably higher, with materials and financials up 3.58 percent and 3.16 percent, respectively, leading the gains.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher with six of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

The Ukraine issue remains a focus on Wall Street.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to the Belarusian capital of Minsk for negotiations with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday told a briefing that his country has no plan to occupy Ukraine and Moscow is ready to hold negotiations straight after the Ukrainian forces "lay down their arms."

Investors also assessed Western sanctions against Russia and the U.S. Federal Reserve's next policy move.

For the week, the Dow dipped 0,06 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.8 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.