Wall Street opened lower Tuesday while escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war prompted investors to shift toward traditional safe-haven assets including gold and Treasury bonds.
The S & P 500 fell 0.5 percent in early trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 319 points, or 0.7 percent. The Nasdaq composite also slid 0.5 percent.
Gold, a traditional refuge during geopolitical uncertainty, rose 0.5 percent, clawing back some of its recent losses.
U.S. Treasury bond prices also climbed, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield down to 4.37 percent from Monday’s 4.41 percent.
Peter Morgan/AP
Nuclear Fears
There were sharper losses in European markets, where France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX plummeted 1.8 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, after reports of U.S.-made ATACMS missiles being fired by Ukraine at Russian targets.
The falls come amid news that Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a formal reduction in the threshold for nuclear weapons use.
The news comes as the duration of Russia’s war on Ukraine reached one thousand days.
There are continuing high losses of Russian personnel, which according to Kyiv, are at 724,050 dead and wounded and a recent daily average of around 1,500 casualties could see the three quarter of a million mark hit within the next month.
Walmart’s Shares Jump
The flight to safety overshadowed encouraging earnings reports from major U.S. retailers.
Walmart shares jumped 3.4 percent after the retail giant exceeded expectations for both profit and revenue, citing strong sales across online and in-store categories.
Walmart also reported attracting higher-income shoppers and raised its annual forecasts.
Despite similarly strong results, Lowe’s saw its stock dip 3.5 percent, highlighting the market’s cautious sentiment.
Meanwhile, a report showed that new home construction in the U.S. fell short of economists’ forecasts in the past month, adding to concerns about the broader economic outlook.
AI Earnings Reports Due
Looking ahead, the week is set to bring additional earnings reports from major players, including Nvidia and Target on Wednesday and Deere on Thursday.
Nvidia, whose stock has soared over 185 percent this year amid AI-related enthusiasm, faces high expectations while investors await its latest quarterly performance.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Super Micro Computer surged 22 percent after announcing a plan to maintain its Nasdaq listing and hiring an independent auditor.
The company’s stock has experienced extreme volatility this year, initially soaring due to its AI server production before plummeting after the resignation of its public accounting firm.
A special committee of the company’s board later said that a three-month investigation found “no evidence of fraud or misconduct on the part of management or the board of directors.”
In Asia, markets were steadier than in Europe, with indexes in Shanghai and Hong Kong gaining 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, while they rebounded from early losses.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
