Stocks tumble as West intensifies sanctions on Russia

Stocks tumbled, while bonds joined a rally in haven assets after a wall of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves through markets around the globe. Oil surged.

Almost 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 fell, with the benchmark slumping more than 1%. The yield on the two-year Treasury note dropped as low as 1.45% as short-end rates led the way down. The dollar slipped, while bets on tightening by the Federal Reserve retreated. Brent futures jumped as much as 7.3% on concern that oil supply may tighten further should Russian flows be disrupted.

Concerns are growing that a decision to freeze the Russian central bank’s assets and exclude some of the nation’s biggest lenders from critical international payment systems may increase stress in global funding markets. Russian markets were paralyzed on Monday and traders struggled to price the ruble, with the currency losing a third of its value in offshore trading at one point. Quotes were infrequent and volatile at the start of the session, and traders warned that low liquidity was making it difficult to match buyers and sellers.