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The ongoing crisis in Ukraine and uncertainty over commodity prices have sent stock trading on a rollercoaster ride on Tuesday. The major indexes eventually ended the day lower, adding to the previous day’s sharp drop.
Investors continued to follow the news from Ukraine, as well as the actions in the commodity markets. At the same time, the Federal Reserve still loomed on the horizon, and the central bank is poised to start raising interest rates next week.
Although it advanced mid-session, the S&P 500 was having trouble maintaining its price. By the end of the day, the index ended at -0.7%. The S&P 500 closed below 4200 for the first time since last June.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Index (COMP.IND) closed down -0.3% from a previous 2.6% gain as it failed to recover from a 3.6% decline recorded the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) fell 0.6%.
In terms of the results, the S&P 500 was down 30.39 points to end the day at 4170.70. The Nasdaq fell 35.41 points to close at 12,795.55. The Dow fell 184.74 points to close at 32,632.64.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 10 basis points to 1.85%. The yield on 2-year bonds rose almost 7 basis points to 1.61%.
Only three of the 11 S&P sectors posted gains, with energy performing best with a 1.3% gain. Defense sectors were the weakest, while consumer goods were at the bottom, falling more than 2.6%.
According to a posting on the government website, Hammerstone Markets said that in response to the ban on energy imports, certain goods and materials will be restricted from exporting from the Russian Federation.
After the headlines hit the headlines, oil went up and stocks went down. Meanwhile, the VIX, a measure of market volatility, declined but still closed above 34.
“[The] The Fed has never started a tightening cycle with the VIX above 25, let alone two standard deviations above the long-term average, as it is now,” writes DataTrek. will be in unprecedented territory compared to historical levels of the VIX, and this creates an additional risk factor for US stocks.”