[New York Stock Market] Nasdaq Plummets 2.78% Amid Fear of 'Ukraine Invasion'

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[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] As the possibility of Russia's invasion of Ukraine escalated, major indices on the New York Stock Exchange all plunged sharply on the 11th (local time). With investor sentiment freezing, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index slid 2.78%. International oil and gold prices both showed upward trends.

On this day at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,738.06, down 503.53 points (1.43%) from the previous day. The S&P 500 index fell 85.44 points (1.90%) to 4,418.64, and the Nasdaq index closed down 394.49 points (2.78%) at 13,791.15.

This decline reflects the lingering concerns from the previous day that the U.S. Federal Reserve's (Fed) tightening could accelerate, combined with a significant impact from the risk of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The market opened higher, watching movements in Treasury yields, but plunged in the afternoon as international oil prices surged amid military tensions between Russia and Ukraine. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a briefing that "Russia's invasion of Ukraine could happen at any time," urging Americans in Ukraine to evacuate within 48 hours at the latest. President Joe Biden ordered the deployment of an additional 3,000 troops to Poland, which borders Ukraine.

By sector, energy stocks and some defense industry stocks closed higher. Lockheed Martin rose more than 2%, and Northrop Grumman jumped nearly 4%. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips closed up 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively. Devon Energy also rose 2.6%. On the other hand, travel-related stocks including airlines plunged. American Airlines shares fell 6%. Airbnb dropped 3.15%, Carnival declined 4.67%, and Delta Air Lines also closed down 3.58%.

The weakness in tech stocks was confirmed once again. Tesla closed down 4.93%, breaking below the 900-dollar mark. Meta Platforms (-3.74%), Apple (-2.02%), Nvidia (-7.26%), Amazon.com (-3.59%), and Microsoft (-2.43%) all closed lower in succession. The selling pressure continued as concerns over Fed tightening remained unresolved. Jeremy Siegel, a professor at the Wharton School, appeared on CNBC that day and predicted, "If the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to be released next month exceeds market expectations, the Fed will raise rates by 0.5 percentage points at once."

In the bond market, risks surrounding Ukraine intensified, causing Treasury yields to decline. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield, which had surpassed 2% the previous day, fell to 1.93% on this day. The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.5%.

Amid geopolitical risks, international oil and gold prices both showed upward trends. On this day at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), March delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $93.10 per barrel, up 3.6% ($3.22) from the previous day.

Gold, a representative safe-haven asset, continued its upward trend. As of 4:10 p.m. Eastern Time, it was trading at $1,863.10 per ounce, up 1.39% from the previous close.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.