US stocks fall and oil gives up gains as Biden prepares to speak with Xi amid escalating war in Ukraine

• US stocks fell Friday on signs that Russia-Ukraine talks have stalled, while oil prices gave up early gains.
• But indexes are still on pace to post their strongest weekly gains since November 2020.

US stocks dropped Friday but are still poised for their strongest weekly performance since November 2020 following a three-day rally in the S&P 500.

The pullback comes amid signs that Russia-Ukraine talks stalled as attacks on Ukrainian cities have escalated.

Meanwhile, President Biden is slated to speak with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday to discuss the ongoing conflict, after the US warned that Beijing may be preparing to support Russia.

Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened at 9:30 a.m. on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,396.42, down 0.35%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,325.52, down 0.45% (155.24 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 13,577.50, down 0.27%

Digital asset experts told US lawmakers Russia is using cryptocurrency to evade the West's economic sanctions. The Russian central bank said Thursday it has licensed major lender Sberbank to issue and exchange digital assets.

The Ukrainian government legalized the cryptocurrency sector, underscoring the country's growing use of digital money during the war.

Meanwhile, S&P Global cut Russia's credit rating even deeper into "junk" territory as the country's risk of default heightens.

Oil turned mixed after rallying more than 1% earlier in the session. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.2% to $103.17 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dipped 0.4% to $106.21 a barrel.

Gold slipped 0.6% to $1,936.50 per ounce. The 10-year yield was down 2.7 basis points to 2.165%.

Bitcoin inched lower 0.9% to $40,475.89.