President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken believe a Russian invasion of Ukraine could happen in a matter of days. The news rattled investors, sending the Dow down 622 points, or 1.8%, Thursday. It was the worst day of the year for the index.
Stocks dropped right at the opening bell in the morning and remained in the red throughout the trading session. The Dow is down more than 1% for the week following Thursday’s losses.
The S&P 500 fell 2.1% Thursday and the Nasdaq was down 2.9%. Both indexes are now in the red for the week as well.
Investors are nervous about what a military conflict between Russia and Ukraine could mean for oil prices and the global economy, especially if the United States and leading nations in Europe become involved.
The VIX (VIX CBOE MKT VOLATILITY IDX), a measure of market volatility, spiked nearly 15% Thursday. The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which looks at the VIX (VIX CBOE MKT VOLATILITY IDX) and six other gauges of market sentiment, dipped further into Fear territory.
The sell-off was broad-based, with 25 of the 30 Dow components trading lower. Walmart (WMT) and Cisco (CSCO)were two of the Dow’s bright spots after both reported strong earnings. Cisco (CSCO)rose nearly 3% and Walmart (WMT) gained 4%.
Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG) were two other Dow standouts, as investors flocked to safe haven consumer companies that have reliable sales and profits and pay steady dividends.
