The stock market began the day on track for huge losses because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In the end, major indexes actually finished in positive territory. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 63 points to 4,288, the Dow rose 92 points to 33,223, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 436 points—more than 3%—to 13,473. Initially, stocks tumbled as prices surged for oil, wheat, and other commodities on worries the conflict would disrupt global supplies, per the AP. But the moves moderated as the day progressed, particularly after President Biden said he wanted to limit the economic pain for Americans and announced new sanctions that fell short of what some had suggested.
Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic briefly jumped above $100 per barrel to their highest levels since 2014. But they gave back much of their gains after Biden said the sanctions package is "specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue.” While he described the sanctions as severe, Ukrainian officials urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from a crucial financial payments system. Afterward, the price of US oil settled at $92.81, up 71 cents for the day, but well below the $100.54 it had touched earlier in the day.
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