S&P 500 posts lowest close since June; Nasdaq falls 3.6%, Dow drops almost 800 points
Ongoing worries about the ripple effect of Russia’s assault on Ukraine and the impact of higher oil prices sparked widespread selling on Wall Street during Monday’s session. The slide accelerated a decline that marked the tail end of last week, with the S&P 500 threatening to break below 4,200 and recording its lowest finish since last June.
Shares declined steadily through the session, closing near their lows. The Nasdaq (COMP.IND) finished as the worst performer among the major averages, -3.6%. The S&P 500 (SP500) wasn’t far behind, ending -3%. The Dow (DJI) finished the day -2.4%.
Looking at closing numbers, the S&P 500 dropped 127.78 to close at 4,201.09. This was the lowest finish since June 19, when the index ended the day at 4,166.45.
For the Nasdaq, the index retreated 482.48 to close at 12,830.96. The Dow retreated 797.42 to conclude the day at 32,817.38.
Nine of 11 S&P sectors closed lower, with Consumer Discretionary posting the biggest drop. That sector retreated more than 4.5%, while Information Technology, Communication Services and Materials all retreating more than 3%.
Energy was the best performing sector on the day, with Utilities representing the only other market segment to post a gain.
WTI crude completed the day near $119 per barrel after having topped $130 earlier. Looking to the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield advanced more than 6 basis points to reach 1.78%. The 2-year yield climbed about 6 basis points to reach nearly 1.55%.
According to Goldman Sachs, the market has “priced more risk into the US asset complex (than Europe outside of Russia), but the moves are more modest and the discounts priced into those assets are still smaller than at the point of peak stress in the immediate post-invasion period (February 23-25).”
The firm added: “The shifts to increased risk in US credit were also larger – on an equivalent basis – than in equities, however, which is a dynamic that bears watching.”
“Longer-dated US rates also saw significantly more pressure than in the prior week Front-end US rates proved relatively more resilient, but this disguises a sharp rally and a partial reversal following Chair Powell’s testimony on Wednesday,” Goldman noted.
Among active issues, Schlumberger is the top gainer in the S&P 500 as oil services stocks rallied. PVH is the largest decliner after a downgrade.
