US markets end mostly lower on Monday

15 Mar 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Monday amid a spike in treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest levels in well over two years. Treasury yields soared as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about further rate hikes. The central bank is likely to continue raising rates over the comings months in an effort to combat elevated inflation, although the economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict may affect the pace. However, the roughly flat close by the Dow came as strong gains by credit card giants American Express and Visa helped offset steep losses by tech giants Intel and Apple.

Meanwhile, traders kept an eye on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as the two countries resumed talks on Monday. A Ukrainian official said the country’s objectives were to secure a ceasefire and an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops, along with other security guarantees. On the sectoral front, energy stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of crude oil. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index dove by 5.2 percent, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index tumbled by 3.6 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index slumped by 2.3 percent. Significant weakness was also visible among gold stocks, which came under pressure amid a notable decrease by the price of the precious metal. Semiconductor and computer hardware stocks also saw substantial weakness on the day, contributing to the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Nasdaq dropped 262.59 points or 2.04 percent to 12,581.22 and S&P 500 was down by 31.2 points or 0.74 percent to 4,173.11, while Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.05 points to 32,945.24.

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