Stock market news live updates: Stocks mixed after Dow hits correction, Nasdaq enters bear market

U.S. equities struggled for direction Tuesday after a sell-off in the earlier session that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall into correction territory and the Nasdaq enter a bear market. Fears of a recession spurred by concerns over the economic consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine have prompted investors to jettison stocks and stockpile safe-haven assets in recent days.

The S&P 500 and Dow traded near the flatline early Tuesday, while the Nasdaq fell 0.5%.

Meanwhile, Nickel trading was suspended on the London Metal Exchange (LME) after its price spiked above $100,000 per metric ton thanks to a short-squeeze on the commodity driven by supply concerns over the Russia-Ukraine war.

Energy prices spiked over the weekend and into Monday amid talks Western nations may add an import ban on Russian crude oil to their growing list of financial penalties against Moscow. The Biden administration is expected to ban U.S. imports of Russian crude oil without participation of European allies, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The announcement is likely to come Tuesday.

President Joe Biden held a conference call with the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom Monday seeking their support for a Russian oil ban, but members of the E.U. have been more reticent to follow through on an embargo. Russian energy products comprise only 7.9% of total petroleum imports, including crude oil, in the U.S., but European countries rely more heavily on Russian crude oil and natural gas for energy.

WTI crude oil futures marked their most volatile day of 2022 on Monday — oscillating nearly 13%, while Brent crude oil futures hit $137 per barrel, the highest price since July 2008. Meanwhile, gold futures rallied past $2,000 per ounce for the first time in 18 months.

“What we’re seeing is the reminder that volatility is a feature of financial markets,” Brown Brothers Harriman chief investment strategist Scott Clemons told Yahoo Finance Live. “I would be very nervous about energy, not only because of how it’s done, but as a reminder, geopolitical unrest like this can lead to a spike in oil prices — and they can be quite scary — but they can also resolve rather quickly.”

“We’re seeing a lot of energy companies that have run away far on the upside anticipating not just elevated prices of the underlying commodity but extended elevated prices,” Clemons said. “That is certainly a possible outcome if this prolongs and disruptions continue, but oil can go right back down as quickly as it went up if there is a quicker resolution to these unrests in Ukraine than markets currently anticipate.”

The exacerbating crisis in Ukraine has raised worries a dent in global trade flows and further supply chain disruptions could push inflation even higher. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest CPI print due out Thursday could show an annual jump of as much as 7.9%, according to consensus economist estimates.

The geopolitical turmoil is expected to derail the Federal Reserve from an aggressive first bump in interest rates — investors had previously considered the likelihood of a 50 basis point rate hike — with Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaling a potential move of 0.25% at the Fed’s policy meeting on March 15 and 16 in congressional testimony last week.

“Of course, a policy mistake is possible, but we believe the Fed will manage interest rate adjustments with the economic impacts of the war in Ukraine,” Comerica Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer John Lynch said in a note. “Fed Chair Jerome Powell appears poised to tackle inflation and is prepared to take the steps necessary to support consumers from surging energy prices.”

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9:50 a.m. ET: Small biz confidence falls to lowest level in more than a year

U.S. small business confidence dropped to the lowest in over a year in February as surging inflation forced a record number of mom- and pop-operations to raise prices and dampened their economic outlook, a survey out Tuesday reflected.

The National Federation of Independent Business reported its Small Business Optimism Index dropped 1.4 points to 95.7 last month from 97.1 in January, marking the lowest print since January 2021.

A large component of businesses – more than one quarter of respondents – said inflation was their main concern. A record 68% said they were implementing price increases of their own as a result, but higher costs on goods still failed to improve bottom-line profit in most cases.

“Inflation is a huge problem for small business,” Comerica Bank chief economist Bill Adams said in a note. “Business sentiment will likely take a leg down in March as companies react to surging energy prices and other spillover from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”