S&P In Correction Territory As Wall Street Slides

The S&P 500 ended down more than 10 percent from its January 3 closing record high. A correction is confirmed when an index closes 10 percent or more below its record closing level.

Indexes pared losses and ended off their lows of the session after US President Joe Biden announced the first wave of sanctions against Russia, while saying he was hopeful diplomacy is still available.

Biden added that the United States had no intention of fighting Russia. He said the sanctions, among others things, target Russian banks and sovereign debt.

"It finally gives all of this rhetoric, all of this strategy, some teeth. This is something to make the other side feel some pain and I think that's appropriate," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

All major S&P 500 sector ended lower on the day, led by losses in cyclical sectors including consumer discretionary and energy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.42 percent, to 33,597, the S&P 500 lost 1.01 percent, to 4,305 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.23 percent, to 13,382.

The measures announced by Biden were not as harsh as some investors had feared, said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates, an investment advisory firm based in Toledo, Ohio.

But he said the effect is likely temporary given that the Ukraine-Russia crisis is not over.

The Dow and Nasdaq were each down more than 2 percent shortly before Biden spoke.

Shares of Home Depot Inc dropped 8.9 percent after the home improvement chain reported a decline in gross profit margins for the holiday quarter due to a jump in transportation and labour costs. (Reuters)