Wall Street stocks turned red in morning trading Tuesday
as investors closely watch the latest developments around the war in Ukraine
and waited for the next round of corporate report cards.

The S&P 500 fell 0.49% to 4,560.38 as of 10:47 am
Eastern Time Zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 80 points, or 0.2%, to
34,841. The Nasdaq fell 211.29 points or 1.45% to 14,321.93.

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Weakness from the heavy technology stocks pulled down the
broader market. Companies in the sector, with their expensive valuations, tend
to push the market in either direction. Chipmaker Qualcomm slipped 3.3%.

Consumer goods and healthcare companies made strong
gains. Insurer United Health Group surged 1.9% and Procter & Gamble rose
1.5%.

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Twitter surged another 4.9% after announcing an agreement
with Tesla chief Elon Musk that will give him a position on the board but also
limit how much of the company he can buy while he’s the director. The Company
had disclosed on Monday that the billionaire and Twitter critic had become the
company’s largest shareholder.

Bond yield surged significantly. The yield on the 10-year
Treasury rose to 2.50% from 2.41% late Monday.

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Wall Street keeps a close eye on Russia’s war in Ukraine
as the possibility of tighter economic sanctions increases. The European
Union’s executive branch has proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia in what
would be the first sanctions targeting the country’s lucrative energy industry
over its war in Ukraine.

Treasury Department will not allow Russian government
debt payments from US financial institutions to be made in US dollars, putting
a stop to one of the strategies used by President Vladimir Putin to avoid
default.

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The tighter sanctions follow increasing evidence that
Russian soldiers deliberately killed civilians during the conflict.

Wall Street is also still closely watching how central
banks are reacting to consistently rising inflation. The Federal Reserve has
already started increasing its benchmark interest rates to curb inflation’s
impact and more hikes are expected in the coming months.

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Investors will be examining the details from The Fed’s
March interest-rate meeting when they are released on Wednesday to try and get
more details on the central bank’s shifting policy to combat inflation.