U.S. stock benchmarks skidded lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded one of its worst losses of the young year while oil prices surged to highs not seen since 2014 as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was in its sixth day.President Joe Biden is slated to address the nation at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, which is expected to include comments about surging inflation and the conflict in Eastern Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA finished off nearly 600 points, or 1.8%, to 33,294. Its finish was close to the level, 33,119.69, that would put the blue-chip benchmark in correction territory, or down 10% from its recent peak, joining the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. The S&P 500 index SPX closed off 1.6% lower at 4,306.20, led by declines in financialsXX:SP500.40, down 3.7%.The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP fell 1.6% to around 13,532. The 10-year Treasury note yields around 1.72%, down over 11 basis points from its 3 p.m. ET Monday rates. April West Texas Intermediate crude CL.1CLJ22rose $7.69, or 8%, to settle at $103.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting an intraday high at $106.78. BitcoinBTCUSD rose sharply to around 44,000.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
