The market was in for a wild ride on Thursday after Russia broke international norms and invaded Ukraine.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly in the green after falling more than 850 points earlier in the day, which was into correction territory. The S&P 500, which entered correction territory earlier this week, and Nasdaq also finished up after tumbling early in the day’s trading.
The Dow ended up 92 points, the S&P 500 finished up 1.5%, and the Nasdaq was 3.34% in the green.
Russian stocks took an enormous walloping after Russian forces began their attack against Ukraine under the command of strongman Vladimir Putin.
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The MOEX Russia index plunged as much as 45% before rebounding to trade down 33%. Trading on the exchange was suspended temporarily on Thursday in light of the freefall. The stocks hit the worst were banks and energy companies.
The early drops and subsequent growth were likely attributable to some investors trying to buy the dip, anticipating the situation in Ukraine might not tank markets as much as some initially thought. Markets also got a bump after President Joe Biden addressed the country about the crisis and said there were no plans to involve U.S. troops directly in Ukraine.
Biden announced a new tranche of sanctions against Moscow during his Thursday afternoon speech but declined to take an even further step of removing Russia from a key international payment system, a move that Kyiv had lobbied for.
While the option to nix Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, better known as SWIFT, is still an option on the table for later down the road, Biden said the fresh round of sanctions the U.S. is imposing could be even more aggressive than Russia’s removal from the system when taken together.
“The sanctions we imposed exceed SWIFT. The sanctions we imposed exceed anything that’s ever been done. The sanctions we imposed have generated two-thirds of the world joining us. They are profound sanctions. Let’s have a conversation in another month or so to see if they’re working,” the president said.
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The invasion of Ukraine, which began in the early hours of Thursday morning local time, has been weeks in the making. The U.S. had been warning Putin had already resolved to attack before Ukrainians were suddenly awakened to the sounds of gunfire and artillery fire.
Putin has faced international condemnation for his breach of international norms and has even faced domestic reproach for the invasion. Hundreds of protesters in Russia were arrested on Thursday after they took to the streets to express their disapproval of the move.
