War and energy prices weigh heavily on courses

NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – In view of the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising energy prices, stock prices in the USA came under pressure again at the beginning of the week. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial fell 1.8 percent to 33,024 points. In the end, hopes for renewed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine could not support the markets either.

After their third round of negotiations, Russia and Ukraine reaffirmed their intention to create humanitarian corridors in the contested areas. There are small positive steps in improving logistics for humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak said on Monday. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said there should be a new attempt this Tuesday to get people to safety via the corridors. Overall, however, he was disappointed with the meeting.

The market-wide S&P 500 recently fell by 2.1 percent to 4238 points. For the tech-heavy select index Nasdaq 100 it went down a little further by 2.3 percent to 13,519 points.

In view of the ongoing tensions between Russia and the West, manufacturers of armaments and defense technology were once again sought after. Lockheed Martin shares rose 1.6 percent to a record high and Raytheon Technologies gained 0.4 percent against a very weak overall market. General Dynamics gained 1.9 percent to a record high.

In contrast, stocks from the financial sector in particular came under pressure. American Express lost 6.4 percent and Visa 3.8 percent. In view of the sharp rise in energy prices, consumers could reduce consumer spending, it said in the trade. That would burden the major credit card operators. The stocks of banks such as JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America also came under pressure.

Shares in the travel industry also felt the effects of the prospect of sluggish consumers as a result of rising oil and gas prices. Titles like Trip.com and Booking had to lose feathers. Shares in ride-hailing service provider Uber were also unable to escape this trend, falling by 2.5 percent despite a higher profit forecast for the current quarter.

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