[New York Stock Market] US Faces Increased Volatility Amid Russian Crude Oil Embargo... S&P Falls 0.72%

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The three major indices of the U.S. New York stock market closed lower on the 8th (local time) after showing volatility due to geopolitical risks surrounding Ukraine and a surge in commodity prices caused by sanctions on Russia.

On that day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 32,632.64, down 184.74 points (0.56%) from the previous day. The S&P 500, which focuses on large-cap stocks, fell 30.39 points (0.72%) to 4,170.70, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed at 12,795.55, down 35.41 points (0.28%).

In contrast to the three major indices, the small-cap focused Russell 2000 index closed up 0.60%, showing a different trajectory.

Investors continued to focus on the sharp rise in commodity prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the potential slowdown in economic growth resulting from it. With inflation soaring to its highest level in decades, recent sharp increases in prices of commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, and nickel have further heightened market uncertainty and spread concerns about stagflation.

By sector, energy stocks showed strength due to the surge in oil prices. Chevron's stock closed up 5.24% compared to the previous session. Additionally, alternative clean energy stocks such as solar power attracted attention, with SunPower and Enphase Energy soaring more than 18% and 10%, respectively.

Airline and cruise stocks also showed strength. Delta Air Lines rose 3.44%, American Airlines Group closed up 5.10%, and Southwest Airlines also gained more than 5%. Boeing (2.64%) and Carnival (2.03%) were also on the rise.

Among tech stocks, Tesla (2.50%), Nvidia (0.79%), Alphabet A (Google, 0.60%), and Meta Platforms (1.54%) showed upward trends, while Amazon.com (-1.07%) and Apple (-1.35%) declined.

Uber rose more than 7% following reports that it was blocking union formation. Mandiant fell more than 2% on reports of an acquisition agreement by Google Alphabet.

Market experts assessed that the market is moving on inflation concerns. Shima Shah, Chief Strategist at Principal Global Investors, said, "Safe asset trading is still ongoing, but inflation concerns are overwhelming." Gold, a representative safe asset, jumped more than 3% that day, reaching $2,056 per ounce. Silver and palladium also showed gains of more than 4% each.

Due to inflation concerns, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield traded around 1.85% that day.

International crude oil prices closed above $120 following news that the U.S. and the U.K. decided to ban imports of Russian crude oil. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices closed at $123.70 per barrel, up $4.30 (3.6%) from the previous session. This is the highest closing price since August 2008. During the session, WTI briefly reached the $129 per barrel level.

U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced a ban on imports of Russian crude oil, natural gas, and coal that day. The U.K. also announced plans to phase out imports of Russian crude oil within the year. Russia is the world's second-largest crude oil exporter.

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