Market Wrap: Crypto, Stocks Fall Further After Putin Sends Troops Into Ukraine
Putin’s advancement of troops into Ukraine has heightened fears of an invasion, leading to further losses in both crypto and equity markets
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- Russia has recognized two separatist regions in Ukraine as independent nations
- Increased geopolitical uncertainty has continued to push markets down
Russia sent troops that will perform "peacekeeping functions" into two Russian-backed Ukrainian territories.
This move has heightened fears that a broader Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent. The US and a number of other nations have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia in an effort to deter further advances.
In addition to sanctions, Biden said the US would continue providing assistance to Ukraine and NATO.
"The US will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine in the meantime and will continue to reinforce and reassure our NATO allies," Biden said. "Today, in response to Russia's admission that it will not withdraw its forces from Belarus, I have authorized additional movements of US forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to strengthen our Baltic allies."
Added Biden: "Let me be clear, these are totally defensive on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia."
Rising geopolitical turmoil between Russia, Ukraine and NATO have not been kind to markets. The S&P 500 ended the day down over 1%. The Nasdaq and Dow, fell too, dropping by just under 1% and 1.42%, respectively.
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Bitcoin, ether and other cryptos ended the day down as well. Bitcoin dropped by over 0.70% by the end of equity markets while ether saw a drop of 1.70%. Some altcoins, like XRP, took big hits and dropped by nearly 7%.
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Going forward
The situation in Ukraine will continue to play a huge role in daily markets moves. Adding to market uncertainty are the coming inflation reports due Friday and the crypto executive order that is rumored to come out sometime this week. Investors should prepare for heavy volatility through the short to mid-term.
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