Wall Street plummets as Russia-Ukraine tensions escalate
By Ishika Dangayach on Feb 17, 2022 | 04:37 AM IST
• S&P 500 falls by 53.3 points
• Nasdaq composite drops 246 points
• Dow Jones industrial average declines by 394.6 points
US stock indices continued to fall on Thursday as investors fled riskier assets growing tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine and increasing inflation.
At 12:08 PM ET, The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 394.6 points, or 1.13%, to 34,539. The S&P 500 fell by 53.3 points, or 1.19%, at 4,421. The Nasdaq Composite dropped by 246 points, or 1.75%, to 13,877.
The losses were widespread, with 10 of the SP 500's 11 categories falling. The Dow and S&P are set to post weekly losses, while the Nasdaq is set to post a little gain.
Read more: US stock futures, treasury yields fall amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine tension
Stocks started falling since raising fears that Russia will launch military action against Ukraine.
NATO accused Russia on Wednesday of growing the number of troops stationed near the Ukrainian border, only a day after Moscow claimed to have begun removing some of its military forces.
The US declared last Sunday that Russia may invade Ukraine at any time and could construct a surprise justification for an assault. Russia has amassed thousands of troops on Ukraine's borders, but it rejects any intention of invading and accuses the West of panic.
Read more: US stocks edge back up after Fed releases minutes of January meeting
Other asset performance
The geopolitical concerns come at a time when investors are already dealing with rising inflation and bracing for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year. For much of the year, these moves have roiled the stock and bond markets.
On Thursday, new data revealed that weekly U.S. unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased from the previous week to 248,000, indicating a tight job market after the Omicron variant interrupted corporate operations.
Read more: Oil prices rocket to seven-year highs amid Russia-Ukraine stand-off
International benchmark Brent crude drops $1.60 or 1.67% to $93.23 a barrel and U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, declines $1.67, or 1.278%, at $91.97 a barrel, after climbing on Wednesday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note fell to 1.981 % and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond moved lower to 2.298%.
Gold moved up by 1.55% to $1900.40.
Read more: US consumer sentiment sinks in early February amid inflation concerns
Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 index decreased 0.74 % while Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.064 %. Nikkei 225 plummeted 0.83 % and Hang Seng Index soared 0.30 %.
Picture Credits: ET