US Stocks End Lower On Ukraine And Oil

Major US stock indexes ended lower in rocky trading on Tuesday, as investors weighed fast-paced developments around the crisis in Ukraine as the United States banned Russian oil and other energy imports over the incursion.

Losses accelerated into the end of Tuesday's up-and-down session, a day after steep declines that saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq confirm it was in a bear market. The benchmark S&P 500 fell for a fourth straight session.

US President Joe Biden announced the ban on Russian oil and other energy imports, underscoring strong bipartisan support for a move that he acknowledged would drive up US energy prices, while Britain said it would phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.

"I think it is just investors trying to probe whether it is worth buying the dips and we had a real big one yesterday," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "Anytime that the buying seems to get a little out of hand on the upside there seems to be willing sellers coming in."

“To me, it’s a trader’s market and people looking for very short-term momentum shifts to trade,” Carlson said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.56 percent to 32,633, the S&P 500 lost 0.72 percent to 4,171 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.28 percent, to 12,796. (Reuters)