US open: Stocks head south as Russian and Ukrainian officials arrive at border

Wall Street stocks were firmly in the red early on Monday as Russian and Ukraine officials arrived at the border to discuss potentially calling a stop to hostilities between the two sides.

As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.41% at 33,580.14, while the S&P 500 was 1.21% weaker at 4,331.78 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.82% softer at 13,582.08.

The Dow opened 478.61 points lower on Monday, cutting into considerable gains recorded in the previous session as market participants assessed risks stemming from Moscow's decision to enter Ukrainian territory.

Monday's early moves come as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have held on to key cities, including the nation's capital of Kyiv but the Russian advance into the country continued over the weekend, with Russian military vehicles entering Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv. There have been reports of fighting taking place in the streets and residents have allegedly been warned to stay in shelters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also put Moscow's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert on Sunday amid growing opposition to his invasion. However, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry stated representatives for both sides had agreed to meet on the Ukraine-Belarus border "with no preconditions".

The Central Bank of Russia more than doubled its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% after the Russian rouble crashed more than 40% in the wake of unprecedented international sanctions against the country's financial system as Washington joined allies in both Europe and Canada to block big Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT. In addition to the SWIFT move, Russia's central bank has been isolated and blocked from deploying its international reserves, meaning Moscow has been all but cut off from the world's financial system

West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose more than 3.6% to around $94.94 per barrel early on Monday, while Brent crude futures also rose nearly 2.72% to $100.59 per barrel. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped to roughly 1.874%.

On the macro front, the US goods trade deficit widened to an all-time high of $107.63bn in January from a revised print of $100.47bn in December, according to an advance estimate from the Census Bureau. Imports rose 1.7% to $262.46bn, while exports fell 1.8% to $154.83bn.

Elsewhere, the Chicago Federal Reserve's purchasing managers index decreased to 56.3 points in February, down from 65.2 points in January to miss market forecasts for a print of 63 and the lowest reading since August of 2020. All five of the main indicators fell, with new orders and supplier deliveries taking the largest hit.

Finally, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' general business activity index for manufacturing in Texas slipped six points to +2 in January, pointing to the smallest growth in factory activity since July 2020.

In the corporate space, HP, Zoom Communications and Groupon will all report earnings after the close.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $210.31 1.07%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $140.55 0.12%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $164.69 -0.10%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $186.41 -0.35%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $296.23 -0.36%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.53 -0.38%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $138.22 -0.42%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.76 -0.67%

Dow Jones - Fallers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $143.12 -3.28%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $339.62 -3.00%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $244.45 -2.00%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $121.70 -2.00%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $58.48 -1.96%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $170.50 -1.70%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $155.67 -1.62%
American Express Co. (AXP) $191.01 -1.39%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $163.70 -1.39%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $469.26 -1.36%

S&P 500 - Risers

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $40.75 5.19%
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $428.75 4.66%
L3Harris Technologies Inc. (LHX) $244.25 4.60%
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $424.14 3.58%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $335.53 3.25%
Apache Corp. (APA) $34.63 2.84%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $109.94 2.48%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $133.10 2.34%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $100.33 2.25%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $56.39 2.16%

S&P 500 - Fallers

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $53.02 -9.66%
State Street Corp. (STT) $84.82 -4.42%
Citigroup Inc. (C) $59.28 -4.36%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $191.28 -4.33%
PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) $134.99 -4.32%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $39.78 -4.24%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $20.24 -4.08%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $44.07 -3.88%
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $52.14 -3.68%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,199.66 -3.59%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $843.00 4.09%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $231.37 2.73%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $144.40 2.54%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $143.55 2.03%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,126.18 1.33%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $28.80 1.21%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $130.13 1.10%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $172.30 0.80%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $242.39 0.34%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $153.40 0.31%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $53.02 -9.66%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $5.48 -7.28%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $191.28 -4.33%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,199.66 -3.59%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.94 -2.98%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $51.46 -2.81%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $96.93 -2.80%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $121.98 -2.77%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $85.44 -2.65%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $169.77 -2.64%