U.S. Stocks May Move Back To The Downside Amid Escalating Tensions With Russia

Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Tuesday, giving back ground following the rebound seen in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.5 percent.

The downward momentum on Wall Street comes amid concerns about escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia.

After President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to attack Russian territory using U.S.-made long-range missiles, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree amending the country’s nuclear doctrine.

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the updated doctrine says Russia “reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression with the use of conventional weapons against it or the Republic of Belarus, which creates a critical threat to sovereignty or territorial integrity.”

“Aggression against the Russian Federation by any non-nuclear state with the participation or support of a nuclear state is considered a joint attack,” Peskov added, according to NBC News.

Shortly before the Kremlin updated its nuclear weapons doctrine, Ukraine reportedly used U.S.-made long-range missiles to attack a Russian military facility in the Bryansk border region.

Following the sell-off seen during last Friday’s session, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Monday. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 regained ground, although the narrower Dow ended the day modestly lower.

While the Nasdaq climbed 111.69 points or 0.6 percent to 18,791.81 and the S&P 500 rose 23.00 points or 0.4 percent to 5,893.62, the Dow edged down 55.39 points or 0.1 percent to 43,389.60.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 1.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.19 to $68.97 a barrel after surging $2.14 to $69.16 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after soaring $44.50 to $2,614.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $23.20 to $2,637.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.55 yen compared to the 154.66 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0587 compared to yesterday’s $1.0598.