As investors monitor the Russia-Ukraine crisis, treasury yields decline.

On Thursday, the yields of U.S. Treasury bonds decreased, with investors closely watching the unfolding events related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

At approximately 4:05 p.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark fell by 8.2 basis points, reaching 1.963%. Meanwhile, the yield on the moved 6.8 basis points lower to 2.296%. It's important to note that yields move inversely with prices, and 1 basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.

Geopolitical tensions continued to be in focus for investors.

The conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists has reached a critical juncture, with Ukraine accusing the separatists of attacking a village near the border, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations stated on Thursday.

According to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, there are indications that Russia is preparing for an imminent invasion.

The housing starts and jobless claims data for January were worse than anticipated, with initial claims increasing to 248,000 instead of a slight decline to 218,000 as expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. However, January's building permits data exceeded expectations.

The Fed's January meeting minutes, released Wednesday afternoon, provided insight into the central bank's plans for tightening monetary policy.

The Fed is planning to raise interest rates and reduce its balance sheet, as indicated by the minutes.

Diane Swonk, chief US economist at Grant Thornton, stated that there is a sense of urgency to begin the liftoff process and reduce the balance sheet.

Jerome Powell's hawkish comments at his briefing following the last meeting were reflected in the minutes, which were not a surprise. However, the statement the Fed released that day was more dovish.

Swonk stated that by June, you could easily achieve a three-quarters of a percent rate hike and balance sheet reductions.

The market report was contributed to by Jesse Pound, Patti Domm, Jeff Cox, and Chloe Taylor of CNBC.