U.S. stocks end lower after dampened hopes for breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine peace talks

All three major U.S. stock benchmarks closed lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 snapping four-day winning streaks, after Russia indicated no breakthrough in peace talks with Ukraine and oil prices climbed. The Dow DJIA, -0.19% fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.63% slid 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.21% dropped 1.2%, according to preliminary FactSet data. Russian forces also shelled areas around Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv despite Russia’s announcement Tuesday that it would significantly scale back military operations near those two areas, according to Associated Press reports. In oil futures, West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery CLK22, -3.99% rose 3.4% to settle at $107.82 a barrel. Investors also weighed a recession warning sent by the bond market Tuesday, when part of the yield curve briefly inverted.