Markets swung violently on Thursday as the world responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Equities in Europe sank dramatically, but stocks in the United States rebounded from early losses as President Joe Biden refrained from imposing the most severe sanctions on Russia.
The S&P 500 rallied 1.5% after erasing an early 2.6% loss, while the Nasdaq staged an even bigger comeback to end with a gain of more than 3%. The heaviest losses hit stocks in Europe, where officials called Russia’s actions a “brutal act of war,” with the German DAX down 4%.
Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic briefly jumped above $100 per barrel to their highest levels since 2014. Afterwards, the price of U.S. oil settled at $92.81, up 71 cents for the day, well below the $100.54 it had touched earlier in the day.
The Fed looks certain to raise rates for the first time since 2018, with the only question being how quickly and how aggressively it will move, starting next month.
In the past, the Fed has sometimes delayed big policy decisions amid uncertainty over geopolitical events such as the Kosovo war and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to Goldman Sachs. But economists at the bank say they still expect the Fed to raise rates steadily at its upcoming meetings.
Nasdaq composite swings from a 3.4% loss in the morning to a 3.3% gain by the end of the day, rising 436.10 points to 13,473.59. It was a remarkable turnaround after the Nasdaq was on track during the morning to close 20% below its record high for the first time since the coronavirus collapsed the economy in 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which isn’t as influenced by big tech stocks, rose a more modest 92.07 points, or 0.3%, to 33,223.83. It rallied back from an earlier 859-point loss. The S&P 500 rose 63.20 points to 4,288.70.
Huge swings also rocked the bond market, where yields initially sank as money moved into investments that looked to offer safer returns than stocks. But yields recovered through the day, and the 10-year Treasury yield was 1.96% in late trading, close to the 1.97% it was at late Wednesday.
The FTSE 100 in London fell 3.9% after Europe awakened to news of explosions in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the major city of Kharkiv and other areas. The CAC 40 in Paris lost 3.8%. Markets in Asia fell nearly 2% or more.
Moscow’s stock exchange briefly suspended trading on all its markets on Thursday morning. After trading resumed, Russian indexes plunged by a third or more.