The market fell on Monday with the Dow falling by around 400 points after a new round of Western sanctions have hit Russia’s economic markets. However, these losses in the markets were mitigated by reports that Russian as well as Ukrainian officials are gathering to discuss an possible end to the conflict, even while Russian troops are continuing their assault in the capital city of Kyiv.
Stocks dropped sharply during the opening: The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2%, around 400 points and the S&P 500 lost 1.1% and the Nasdaq, a tech-focused Composite nearly 1%.
Energy prices rose yet again on Monday with Brent crude rising more than three percent, to over $100 per barrel, with experts warning the prices may rise higher as a result of the aftermath from the war.
The Russian ruble plunged by up to 30% when compared to the U.S. dollar on Monday as part of the latest round Western sanctions. While the Moscow exchange was close for the day, and Russia’s central bank has more than tripled their interest-rates to 20%.
The move comes after the most recent series of Western sanctions that have crippled Russia’s economics: The United States joined European allies this weekend to block Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT, which connects more than 11,000 financial institutions from over 200 countries.
Although stocks fell Monday, market sentiment did gain a little after news reports about Russian and Ukrainian officials are gathering close to the border to talk about the possibility of a resolution to the conflict.
Despite officials meeting for talks, Russia has continued the assault on Ukraine and has entered the second-largest city of the country this weekend (though Ukrainian troops have put up more resistance than expected and hold the capital city of Kyiv).
“Putin’s campaign against Ukraine is proving to be a massive folly for his nation as his forces fail to take any major cities , while the international community responds with a crushing number of financial counterattacks” says Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli. As stocks take a hit from the ongoing hostilities, “investors will obviously be keeping an eye on” for updates on the talks among Russia and Ukraine.
Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine increased, culminating in Russian the president Vladimir Putin officially launching his invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. The stock market rebounded on Friday with the Dow rising by 800 points, its most successful day since the end of 2020–as reports first came out regarding Russia saying it would be willing to engage in negotiations with Ukraine.
