Dow falls 166 points amid Ukraine conflict; markets on pace for 4% loss in February

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. markets were mixed amid a volatile day of trading Monday as investors processed the fallout of Russia's assault on Ukraine over the weekend.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 166.15 points, or 0.49%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.24%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.41% to close the final day of trading in February.

With Monday's session, each of the three major averages was on track for a loss of about 4% for the month.

Trading was largely influenced by conflict between Ukraine and Russia as Ukrainian forces sought to fend off advances by Moscow and officials from both countries held negotiations near the border with Belarus on Monday.

"War is fundamentally a 'risk-off' environment for risky assets as global investors move into sovereign bonds and other 'safe havens' until some kind of conclusion/new normal becomes priced in," Raymond James strategist Tavis McCourt said, according to CNBC.

"Everything about this is unprecedented, so about the only rational thing to say about equities is to expect volatility to continue pending a resolution."

Volatility was most present in currency markets as the Central Bank of Russia saw its interest rate more than double to 20% from 9.5%, and the ruble fell nearly 16% against the U.S. dollar as the United States, the European Union and multiple other nations over the weekend moved to ban key Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank messaging system and imposed sanctions against the central bank.

Capital economics group chief economist Neil Shearing wrote in a note Monday that the SWIFT bank bans "would make it more difficult (though not impossible) for these institutions to make cross-border payments."

"So far, at least, the West has stopped short of a ban on energy imports from Russia, which would be the most powerful sanctions they could implement," Shearing added.

Bank stocks declined Monday, with Citibank and JPMorgan Chase both falling more than 4%.

Government bond yields also fell, with the benchmark 10-year U.S. treasury note falling to 1.83%.

Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate crude climbing to as high as $99.10 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, neared a seven-year high of more than $104 per barrel.

Defense stocks also rose, with Lockheed Martin gaining 6.67%, while Northrop Grumman rose 7.93%. Cybersecurity stocks helped keep the Nasdaq in the green with Crowdstrike jumping 7.41%.