Wall Street was mixed Wednesday, after Target's (TGT) earnings report weighed on the entire retail sector. The Dow rallied in the final hour of trading, turning in a 139-point win and snapping a four-day losing streak, while the S&P 500 finished the day unchanged. Meanwhile the Nasdaq slipped slightly, ahead of Nivida's (NVDA) highly-anticipated quarterly results, which are due after today's close. In the background, investors' "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), rose for a fourth session in five.

GOLD CONTINUES CLIMB AMID GEOPOLITICAL FEARS

Oil prices inched lower today, as traders pondered this week's "meaningful escalation" in tensions between Russia and Ukraine and digested data that showed a small weekly rise in U.S. crude inventories. December-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed the session 52 cents -- or 0.8% -- lower to settle at $68.87 a barrel.

Gold prices settled higher for the third-straight session amid the tumult spurred on by developments tied to the Russia-Ukraine war. Gold for December delivery rose $20.70, or 0.8%, to close at $2,651.70 an ounce.

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