Dow sinks 623 points as Russia, Ukraine invasion fears spike

The selloff in U.S. stocks accelerated during the final hour of trading as investors continue to monitor tensions between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the Federal Reserve’s preparation for a March rate hike. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 623 points or 1.8%, the worst session of 2022, while the S&P 500 fell 2.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite saw a steeper selloff of 2.8%. President Biden, when asked about the situation earlier today, told ABC News an invasion could be in just a matter of days. 

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %
I:DJIDOW JONES AVERAGES34312.03-622.24-1.78%
SP500S&P 5004380.26-94.75-2.12%
I:COMPNASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX13716.719187-407.38-2.88%

Oil rose to close at $91.76 per barrel, as gold closed above $1,900, a nine-month high, as investors sought out safer assets. 

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %
USOUNITED STATES OIL FUND L.P.64.17+0.63+0.99%
GLDSPDR GOLD SHARES TRUST – EUR ACC177.28+2.44+1.40%

In earnings news, Walmart shares rose after profits and sales came in ahead of expectations and the retailer delivered a solid forecast for the year with profits expected to rise by mid-single-digits and sales around 3%. It also boosted its dividend to $0.56 per share. 

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %
WMTWALMART INC.138.76+5.20+3.89%

DoorDash Inc shares also popped after quarterly revenue beat estimates as food delivery demand showed no sign of slowing.

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %
DASHDOORDASH INC.105.08+10.20+10.75%

Shares of Cisco rose after the networking firm announced a $15 billion increase to its stock repurchase program and reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %
CSCOCISCO SYSTEMS INC.55.77+1.52+2.80%

Chipmaker Nvidia also in focus after posting strong quarterly results. 

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %
NVDANVIDIA CORP.245.07-20.04-7.56%

Fastly, the cloud management company, saw its shares sink over 30% after forecasting weaker than expected revenue and a wider than expected loss. 

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange %
FSLYFASTLY INC.19.20-9.73-33.63%

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

In economic data, the Labor Department reported new claims for unemployment benefits rose to 248,000 from 223,000 the previous week. Continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, fell to 1.59 million. 

RETAIL SALES RISE FASTER THAN EXPECTED IN JANUARY DESPITE SURGING INFLATION

Separately, the number of new homes under construction in January fell 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.68 million. Permits for future construction rose 0.7% to 1.89 million in January, the highest since May of 2006.

And the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing activity for eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware slipped 7.2 points to 16.0.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX BUSINESS’ REAL-TIME CRYPTOCURRENCY PRICING DATA 

Bitcoin, in sympathy with stocks, slipped to the $40,000 level. 

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

FOX Business’ Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read original article here

Leave a Comment