S&P 500 falls into correction territory as the US hits Russia with sanctions

• The S&P 500 closed 1% lower on Tuesday, but losses from its recent peak in January broke above 10% to send the index into a correction.
• The US and European nations announced sanctions against Russia after Putin sent troops into breakaway regions of Ukraine.

US stocks traded lower Tuesday amid the escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis, with the daily losses for the S&P 500 pushing the benchmark index into a correction.

The markets remained largely uncertain on Tuesday, reacting lower after the UK, Germany, and US moved to impose sanctions on Russia. The tough stance against Vladimir Putin and his government follows Kremlin’s decision to sent troops into separatist-held Ukrainian regions.

In announcing the first batch of sanctions, US President Joe Biden said the intention was to make it harder for Russia to borrow and finance its budget. The sanctions target individuals, financial institutions, and state organs.

The S&P 500 hits correction for the first time since February 2020

While the European markets closed mixed amid the crisis, Wall Street saw the S&P 500 fall more than 1% on the day to bring losses from its January peak to over 10%. The declines now put the benchmark index in correction territory, the first time this has happened since February 2020.

OUCH! S&P 500 drops 1%, falls into correction territory as Russian troops enter Ukraine region. The broad stock index is down more than 10% from January’s high. pic.twitter.com/jD41wNkeFc

— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) February 22, 2022

The S&P 500’s 1% dip came after a rebound off intraday losses of nearly 2%.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 490 points, or -1.42%, while the Nasdaq composite closed 1.23% down.

In Europe, stocks bounced off an early sell-off to end the day mixed. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed unchanged, while markets in Germany, France, and Italy saw minor losses.

in individual stocks, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) fell 1.58%, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) shed 1.78% and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB) fell 2%. The declines pulled the mega-cap FANG+ index more than 22% down from its November highs.

The UK’s FTSE 100 closed 0.13% higher, and Russia’s MOEX index edged +1.6% to recoup most of the losses seen on Monday when the index fell 10.5%.

In other markets, Oil prices held recent gains after easing off highs near $100 per barrel. Brent crude closed at $96.84 per barrel, with the international benchmark contract having touched intraday highs of $99.50 per barrel.

Gold prices held above $1,900 per ounce while Bitcoin recovered from lows of $36,350 to test resistance above $38,000 at the close of US markets.