Wall Street slips as Ukraine declares emergency

NEW YORK: U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as Ukraine declared a state of emergency, while reports of cyberattacks on several of its state websites fueled fears about escalating tensions with Russia.

After opening higher, eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors fell, while a 2.3% drop in Tesla dragged the Nasdaq lower. Twenty of the 30 Dow components were trading in the red.

In the latest ominous signs of an all-out Russian military onslaught, Ukraine declared a state of emergency and told its citizens in Russia to flee, while Moscow began evacuating its Kyiv embassy.

Ukraine also blamed Russia for a string of cyberattacks as its state websites, including the government and foreign ministry home pages, remained inaccessible.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is expected to announce it will allow sanctions to move forward on Nord Stream 2 AG, the company in charge of building Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, CNN reported, citing U.S. officials.

“At this moment, it is not clear whether we are just seeing geopolitical tension which will ultimately be managed through diplomacy or whether we are heading towards a war like situation,” said Geetu Sharma, founder and investment manager, AlphasFuture LLC.

Energy stocks jumped 0.9% as oil prices recovered.

At 10:29 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 86.00 points, or 0.26%, at 33,510.61, the S&P 500 was down 10.83 points, or 0.25%, at 4,293.93, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 50 points, or 0.37%, at 13,331.52.

U.S. stocks have had a turbulent start to 2022 as worsening geopolitical tensions hurt investor sentiment already dented by worries about aggressive policy tightening by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation.

As megacap stocks declined amid inflationary worries, the Nasdaq has tumbled 14% so far this year, while the S&P 500 is down about 10%. The Dow has lost about 8%.

Diamondback Energy Inc rose 1.6% the U.S. shale oil producer reported upbeat fourth-quarter profit and boosted its dividend as fuel prices hit multi-year highs on stronger energy demand.

Mosaic Co fell 1.6% after the fertilizer maker posted downbeat quarterly results.

Lowe’s Cos Inc added 3.3% after the home improvement chain raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts.

Cadence Design Systems Inc jumped 8.1% as the microchip design software maker forecast higher-than-expected 2022 earnings following strong fourth-quarter results.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.13-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 1 new 52-week highs and 15 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 17 new highs and 221 new lows.