Stocks gain slightly as Russia-Ukraine stays in focus

U.S. stock indexes were slightly higher Friday morning as Wall Street stayed focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 40 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%.

Trading was volatile and the Cboe Volatility Index rose above 28.

"Markets tend to overreact to geopolitical events," Credit Suisse's Andrew Garthwaite said in a note Friday.

Investors continue to be on edge about the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian government and Russian state-controlled media on Friday exchanged fresh accusations of cease-fire violations at the border.

Ukraine on Thursday accused pro-Russian separatists of attacking a village near the border. In the U.S., meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to the United Nations and warned that the situation is at a "moment of peril."

Oil prices fell Friday morning and energy stocks were marginally lower. Devon Energy, APA and Schlumberger each lost less than 1%.

Intel was the biggest laggard on the Dow, down around 4%. Bank of America reiterated an underperform rating on the stock.

Roku shares dropped about 25% after the video-streaming company reported a revenue miss and issued weaker-than-expected guidance.

Investors have also been grappling with the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who had just called for aggressive action, warned that inflation could get out of control without rate hikes.

Wall Street is coming off a steep sell-off, with the Dow on Thursday posting its biggest daily drop since the end of November.

Major averages are on pace for their second negative week in a row. The three indexes are each down around 1% on the week.

"Wall Street is feeling very jittery as it looks to the left and sees intensifying geopolitical risks with the Ukraine situation and then it looks to the right and sees the potential for aggressive Fed tightening," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, said in a note.