Tuba Sahin
28 February 2022•Update: 28 February 2022
ANKARA
Major indices in the US stock market opened lower on Monday amid mounting sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine.
The Dow Jones decreased 460 points, or 1.35%, to 33,599 at 9.30 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 lost 47.05 points or 1.07%, to 4,337.
The Nasdaq was off 96.18 points or 1.07%, to 13,598 points.
Amid rising tensions, the VIX volatility index soared 15.66% to 31.91, while the dollar index was up 0.24% to 96.85.
Precious metals saw another rally as investors continue to see them as a safe haven amid rising geopolitical risks.
Gold was up 1.53% to $1,916 per ounce and silver gained 1.22% to $24.602.
Oil prices posted strong gains on Monday, rising over 3.7% with Brent crude trading at $97.63 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $95.03.
The US Treasury announced on Monday it has prohibited Americans from doing business with the Russian central bank, Russia’s National Wealth Fund, and the Finance Ministry and froze any assets of the Russian central bank held in the US or by US nationals.
The US suspended operations at its embassy in Belarus' capital Minsk and also authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency employees and family members at the US Embassy in Moscow.
The EU, US, UK, Canada, and the EU Commission agreed on Sunday to ban several Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, known as SWIFT, a global financial transactions and payments system used between banks worldwide.
Russia's Central Bank on Monday hiked the key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% in a dramatic move amid sanctions as the ruble lost value against other currencies.
One Russian ruble traded at 111.52 per dollar at 0830GMT after it fell as much as 40% to 118.6 per dollar, hitting a new record low.
