US markets end lower on intensifying Russia-Ukraine crisis

23 Feb 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Tuesday on intensifying worries about a Russian invasion of Ukraine a day after the Russian government recognized two Ukrainian separatist regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as sovereign states. Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently ordered troops into the territory as peacekeepers, with Russia's upper house of parliament later giving consent to sending forces abroad. Describing the latest actions by Russia as the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden announced the first tranche of US sanctions. Biden said ‘I am going to begin to impose sanctions in response, far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014. And if Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions.’

He stated the US will impose sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and Russia’s military bank, and Russia’s sovereign debt as well as Russian elites and their family members. He also announced the US has worked with Germany to ensure the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will not move forward, with Germany previously halting certification of the pipeline. The UK also announced a first tranche of sanctions on Russia, targeting five Russian banks and three very high net worth individuals. On the sectoral front, tobacco stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day, dragging the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index down by 3.6 percent. Substantial weakness also emerged among retail stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent nosedive by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 482.57 points or 1.42 percent to 33,596.61, Nasdaq lost 166.55 points or 1.23 percent to 13,381.52 and S&P 500 was down by 44.11 points or 1.01 percent to 4,304.76.

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