NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks Friday finished lower as worsening tensions over Ukraine overshadowed a US labor report that showed surprisingly strong jobs growth.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46.81 points (0.28 percent) to 16,512.06.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 2.72 (0.14 percent) to 1,880.96, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 3.55 (0.09 percent) to 4,123.90.
Stocks rose just after the Labor Department said the US economy added 288,000 jobs in April, far above the 210,000 projected by analysts.
But headlines on Ukraine rattled investors. Russia warned Ukraine of "catastrophic consequences" unless it halted a military operation against pro-Russian secessionists.
The crisis spread to the southern city of Odessa, where 38 people died in an arson attack against a trade union building after a day of violent clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian militants
President Barack Obama, speaking at the White House after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, threatened "severe sanctions" if Russia did not alter course.
"This Ukraine thing keeps grinding along and it doesn't appear it's going to end anytime soon," said Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Global Asset Management.
"People are worried this could turn into something a little bit bigger."
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