Stock Market Today: Russia-Ukraine Escalation Knocks S&P Into Correction

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Any feelings of relaxation from the long holiday weekend were snuffed out Monday, as the worsening Ukraine-Russia conflict sent the S&P 500 into correction territory for the first time since 2020.

Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to enter areas of eastern Ukraine – a move that President Joe Biden dubbed an "invasion" and was met with international sanctions.

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Among them: Biden prohibited American financial institutions from processing any transactions from large Russian bank VEB and the country's military bank, Promsvyazbank, while U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country's first round of sanctions would target IS Bank, General Bank and other Russian financials.

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Commodities rose – U.S. crude oil prices were up 1.4% to $92.35 per barrel while gold was up 0.4% to an eight-month-high settlement of $1,907.40 per ounce.

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But stocks declined throughout the session, led lower by the consumer discretionary sector (-2.9%), which saw the likes of Tesla (TSLA, -4.1%) and Best Buy (BBY, -7.3%) suffer sizable declines.

The S&P 500, off 1.0% to 4,304, finally dipped into correction territory (a decline of 10% or more from a peak). The Nasdaq Composite (-1.2% to 13,381) remains in correction, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-1.4% to 33,596) would need to decline another 2.0% to mark a 10% drop from its Jan. 3 record high.

Other news in the stock market today:

The small-cap Russell 2000 slumped 1.5% to 1,980.
Bitcoin was punished, dropping 5.3% from Friday's levels to $37,925.63 (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
Home Depot (HD) was the worst Dow Jones stock today, shedding 8.9% after earnings. The home improvement retailer reported stronger than anticipated earnings of $3.21 per share and revenue of $35.7 billion in its fourth quarter, but gave a conservative fiscal 2022 outlook to account for rising inflation. Still, CFRA Research analyst Kenneth Leon maintained a Buy rating on HD stock and called its recent pullback "an enhanced buying opportunity."
Kraft Heinz (KHC) was a rare splash of green today, with the stock climbing 5.0% after the food and beverage firm raised its long-term growth targets and reiterated its fiscal 2022 adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). "Over the past 18 months, KHC has strengthened its product portfolio, reduced its debt load, and set the foundation for more profitable growth," writes CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram (Buy). "Phase three will look to use technology and data-driven solutions to accelerate the pace of innovation and use resources more effectively."
Tempur Sealy International (TPX) plunged 19.4% after the mattress maker reported earnings. In its fourth quarter, TPX reported adjusted earnings of 88 cents per share on $1.36 billion in revenue, falling short of the 96 cents per share and $1.45 billion expected by analysts. The company also lifted its quarterly dividend by 11.1% to 10 cents per share.

What Russia-Ukraine Means for Your Portfolio

While stocks are facing numerous headwinds this year, military conflict is unlikely to have a lasting effect.

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"As devastating as a major conflict could be between Russia and Ukraine, the truth is stocks likely will be able to withstand the geopolitical struggle," says Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist of LPL Financial, who adds that historically, major geopolitical events are often a "nonevent" for U.S. equities.

But that doesn't mean there won't be at least some short-term consequences, as today's declines clearly signal.

In the short term, for instance, commodities of all types are expected to gain additional ground – a boon for commodity funds such as these energy exchange-traded funds or these gold ETFs.

And you can check out our primer for a wider look at the various ways strategists and analysts see the Russia-Ukraine conflict making itself felt in U.S. portfolios.

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Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.

Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.

You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.