Stock Market Today: Energy Soars as Russia-Ukraine Volatility Resumes
The major indexes put up mixed results Monday as investors digested a weekend's worth of sanctions, military actions and other changes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Newsletter sign up Newsletter

American stock markets were volatile again Monday as investors processed a laundry list of new developments in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Among those events: The U.S. and European nations have largely coalesced around the Ukrainian cause, providing varying military aid as well as isolating Russia through numerous new sanctions, including banning some Russian banks from using the SWIFT system that enables financial firms to settle cross-border transactions.
Also, as we mentioned in our free A Step Ahead e-letter (opens in new tab), these efforts extended to the public markets. On Sunday, BP (BP (opens in new tab), -5.0%) said it would exit a nearly 20% stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft, and on Monday, Shell (SHEL (opens in new tab), -3.4%) announced it would exit all Russian operations, including a liquefied natural gas plant part-owned by Russia's Gazprom.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Regardless, it was still a great day for energy, which was the strongest S&P 500 market sector at 2.5%. U.S. crude oil futures rocketed 4.5% higher, to $95.72 per barrel, while Brent (global) crude topped $100 per barrel – lifting U.S. exploration and production companies such as Occidental Petroleum (OXY (opens in new tab), +12.9%) and EOG Resources (EOG (opens in new tab), +7.1%).
Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq temporarily halted trading in several Russian stocks, and broad baskets of Russian equities – including the VanEck Russia ETF (RSX (opens in new tab), -30.5%) and iShares MSCI Russia ETF (ERUS (opens in new tab), -27.9%) – plunged.
The major indexes fininshed Monday in mixed fashion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.5% to 33,892.60, closing down 3.5% across February. The S&P 500 lost a modest 0.2% to 4,373.94, declining 3.1% for the month. And the Nasdaq Composite managed to end the session up 0.4% to 13,751.40, checking out of February with a 3.4% drop.
One thing to watch going forward, say Jason Pride and Michael Reynolds, CIO of private wealth and vice president of investment strategy, respectively, at investment firm Glenmede, are additional supply-chain disruptions.
"The European Union relies on Russia for more than a third of its natural gas supply. Also, Russia and Ukraine combined account for a quarter of global wheat exports," they say. "Additionally, Ukraine is the source of 90% of the world's semiconductor-grade neon and Russia is responsible for 24% of palladium exports. Such large presence in these markets could cause more disruptions to already strained supply chains."
Other news in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 also managed a 0.4% improvement, to 2,048, finishing February better than its large-cap index cousins with a 1.0% gain.
- Gold futures edged up 0.7% to finish at $1,900.70, bringing their monthly gain to 5.8%.
- Bitcoin made an aggressive 7.2% advance to $41,937.38. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.)
- Block (SQ (opens in new tab)) jumped 6.4% after BMO Capital Research analyst James Fotheringham upgraded the fintech stock (opens in new tab) to Outperform from Market Perform (the equivalents of Buy and Hold, respectively). The analyst expects Block's May 18 investor day to be a potentially positive catalyst for the stock, and expects Square to turn in earnings and growth beats. "Our SQ model is more bullish than consensus due to out-year forecasts for a softer landing for Cash App (faster user growth and broader product monetization) and Afterpay accretion to revenue growth (+2%) and earnings per share (+4%)," Fotheringham says.
- Defense stocks caught a bid as Russia's attack continued. Additionally, among countries increasing aid to Ukraine was Germany, which said it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles. Germany also annnounced it would lift its defense spending above 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) from its 2021 estimated level of 1.53%, per NATO statistics. Raytheon Technologies (RTX (opens in new tab), +4.7%), Northrup Grumman (NOC (opens in new tab), +7.9%) and Lockheed Martin (LMT, (opens in new tab) +6.7%) were among those that finished higher.
The 25 Most Popular Blue Chips Among Hedge Funds
Every quarter, we take a long gander at what Wall Street's "smart money" is up to.
Naturally, Warren Buffett tends to dominate the spotlight – his Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio (opens in new tab) is regularly scrutinized by those wondering what the world's most famous investor is buying and selling (opens in new tab) from one quarter to the next.
But we also look at which stocks have garnered the most attention from the hedge fund community.
Yes, hedge funds as a whole actually have a pretty poor long-term track record, but given their collective resources, monitoring their most popular ideas can still be educational. And let's give theim their due: Hedge funds are having a market-beating 2022 – which one would expect, as their hedging strategies are designed to limit downside risk. Unsurprisingly, hedge fund managers are elbow-deep in blue-chip stocks, as their massive market capitalizations and liquidity allow institutional investors to buy and sell in large quantities without drastically affecting pricing in those stocks.
Here, we look at the 25 blue chips that these smart-money managers are stashing away.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of Young and The Invested (opens in new tab), a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of parents and children. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab).
-
-
Stock Market Today: Tech, Bank Stocks Lead Markets Higher
Retailers were big gainers, too, thanks to strong earnings from Lululemon Athletica.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
IRS: Don't Trust All Social Media Tax Tips
The IRS warns that not all social media tax advice should be trusted.
By Kelley R. Taylor • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Tech, Bank Stocks Lead Markets Higher
Retailers were big gainers, too, thanks to strong earnings from Lululemon Athletica.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stock Market Struggles While Alibaba Shines
Tech and communication services stocks were two of the worst performers today as Treasury yields rose.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Finish Mostly Higher After First Citizens Buys SVB Assets
The Nasdaq closed lower, though, as mega-cap tech stocks declined.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Brush Off Deutsche Bank Troubles
Troubling financial sector headlines kept stocks lower for most of the day, but the major indexes pushed higher by the close.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Close Higher in Volatile Session
The major indexes spent most of Thursday in rally mode, but selling pressure emerged in afternoon trading.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Amazon Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Amazon AMZN stock has lost almost $900 billion in value since its all-time high, but bulls say it's only a matter of time before it reclaims its heights.
By Dan Burrows • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Sink After Latest Fed Rate Hike
The major indexes sold off sharply Wednesday even amid signs the Fed's rate-hike campaign could be nearing an end.
By Karee Venema • Published
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Up Again as Bank, Energy Stocks Outperform
The major indexes closed higher for a second straight day ahead of tomorrow's highly anticipated Fed decision.
By Karee Venema • Published