NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks ended an ugly session sharply lower yesterday on rising worries about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine as markets shrugged off good earnings from Walmart and others.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 622.24 points, or 1.78%, to 34,312.03, the S&P 500 lost 94.75 points, or 2.12%, to 4,380.26, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 407.38 points, or 2.88%, to 13,716.72.
The drop for the Dow was the biggest daily percentage decline since Nov 30 while the Nasdaq's decline was its largest percentage fall since Feb 3.
Stocks were in the red all day, but losses deepened as more officials warned of attack.
Edward Moya of foreign exchange trading platform Oanda said the risks of war “appear to be rising”, irking markets already leery of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate increases.
“Wall Street is feeling very jittery as it looks to the left and sees intensifying geopolitical risks with the Ukraine situation and then it looks to the right and sees the potential for aggressive Fed tightening,” Moya said.
The growth-oriented technology and communication services sectors were among the hardest hit. Financials also declined as US Treasury yields moved lower.
Gold prices rose above US$1,900 (RM7,956) for the first time since June. US gold futures settled 1.6% higher at US$1,902 an ounce, an eight-month high.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell about 2% as talks to resurrect a nuclear deal with Iran entered their final stages and could unlock more crude supplies, but losses were limited by tension between top energy exporter Russia and the West over Ukraine.
“(The) oil market is locked in a tug of war between Iranian sanctions relief and Russian-Ukraine tensions,” said Stephen Brennock at brokerage PVM Oil.
Brent futures fell US$1.84, or 1.9%, to settle at US$92.97 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell US$1.90, or 2.0%, to settle at US$91.76. – AFP, Reuters