S&P 500 retreats from 4600 on a dismal market mood, on Russia-Ukraine conflict

• The S&P 500, the Dow Jones, and the Nasdaq Composite recorded losses in a risk-off market mood, courtesy of Russo-Ukraine tussles.
• Russia insists on receiving natural gas payments in roubles, threatens to block proceedings in euros/dollars.
• Gold and the greenback are rising, while US Treasury yields and oil are trading in the red.

US equities are recording losses in the North American session as Wall Street is about to finish March on a lower note. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite are falling between 0.30% and 0.43%, each one sitting at 4,576.32, 35075.94, and 15,014.01 respectively

A negative market mood weighed on US equities

A risk-off market mood courtesy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and continued fighting between Russia and Ukraine, keep grabbing the headlines. Russian President Putin signed a decree establishing natural gas trade rules, like payments in roubles, new proceedings in euros and US dollar could also be blocked. If demands are not met, current contracts will be halted.

Meanwhile, the greenback rose on the headline. In fact, it remains firm, as portrayed by the US Dollar Index, up 0.43%, sitting at 98.256. Contrarily, US Treasury yields continue falling for the second consecutive day, down four basis points, down at 2.316%.

Aside from this, Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Real Estate are the leaders of the trading session, up 0.69%, 0.34%, and 0.27%. The laggards are Communication Services, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary, down 1.14%, 1.02%, and 0.78%.

In the commodities complex, the US crude oil benchmark, WTI, is losing 5.27%, trading at $101.73 BPD, weighed by news that the Biden administration would tap 1 Million BPD from the SPR oil reserves for a period of six months. Precious metals like gold (XAU/USD) are rising 0.61%, exchanging hands at $1944.55 a troy ounce, boosted by a risk-off sentiment.

The US economic docket featured the Fed’s favorite gauge of inflation, the Core PCE for February, which rose by 5.4% y/y, lower than the 5.5% estimated, while US Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending on March 26 increased by 202K, higher than the 197K expected.

On Friday, April 1, the US Department of Labor will reveal the Nonfarm Payrolls report for March. Even though the NFP is one of the most important economic indicators, now that the Fed is focused on inflation, it has taken a backseat, except for Average Hourly Earnings, which could shed some light on rising inflation.

Technical levels to watch