U.S. stocks gapped down at the open Tuesday after Russia moved troops into two contested parts of Ukraine and military officials feared a full invasion. After paring losses, indexes resumed declines, while oil prices surged.
The Nasdaq composite opened 1% lower and fought back to a minor gain. But shortly after 11 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq was off 0.7%. The S&P 500 lost 0.6%. Volume rose on the NYSE and Nasdaq compared with the same time on Friday. (The stock market closed Monday for Presidents Day.)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, after component Home Depot fell below its 200-day moving average, a level that had kept the stock from further deterioration.
Shares slid nearly more than 7% despite that the home improvement chain's earnings release this morning topped sales and earnings expectations. Same-store sales rose 8.1% for the January-ended quarter. Home Depot also raised its quarterly dividend by 15% to $1.90 a share.
U.S. Stocks React To Ukraine Crisis
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 33775.24 | -303.94 | -0.89 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4322.64 | -26.23 | -0.60 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 13445.76 | -102.31 | -0.76 |
| Russell 2000 | 198.54 | -0.93 | -0.47 | |
| IBD 50 | 36.97 | -0.20 | -0.54 | |
Last Update: 11:18 AM ET 2/22/2022 |
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Russian troops poured into the Donbas region of Ukraine after Vladimir Putin recognized two areas as independent states. Western nations condemned the moves and imposed new sanctions on Russia. Germany halted the opening of a pipeline that would allow Russia to bypass Ukraine in exporting natural gas to Europe, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The price of U.S. crude oil rose 1.8% to $92.74 a barrel. Brent crude climbed close to $100 a barrel.
But European indexes were mainly higher. The London FTSE 100 climbed 0.2%, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.2% and the German DAX was off less than 0.2%.
Asian stocks closed lower, however. The Shanghai Composite fell 1%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng slid 2.7% and the Tokyo Nikkei 225 fell 1.7%.
Digital World Acquisition reduced 10%-plus gains to 3%. Former President Donald Trump's social media app Truth Social launched over the holiday weekend. The app is at the top of the Apple App Store's list of free-app downloads, despite some glitches at the launch.
Digital World is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that plans to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social. Digital World shares reached a four-month high before paring gains.
Innovator IBD 50 ETF fell 0.4% as natural resource stocks such as Sibanye Stillwater, Cactus and Diamondback Energy led the index.
U.S. Stocks Take In Economic Reports
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for February was nearly unchanged from the previous month at 110.5.
The IHS Markit purchasing managers index, a gauge of private sector output, climbed to 56.0, above forecasts and a two-month high. The services business index climbed to 56.7, while the manufacturing PMI rose to 57.5.
"Both the manufacturing and service sectors recorded stronger expansions in output, with companies linking growth to substantial gains in new business, employees returning from sick leave, increased traveling and greater availability of raw materials," Markit said in its report. "February data highlighted a sharp and accelerated increase in new business among private sector companies that was the fastest in seven months."
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index of 20 metropolitan areas surged 18.6% unadjusted in December from a year earlier and 1.1% from the previous month.
"This late season boost was likely due to a demand rush before mortgage rates began their long-anticipated rise. The beginning of that rate increase came over January and into February," Tomo Networks economist Skylar Olsen said.
