US Futures Fall Sharply As Putin Announces Russian Military Action In Ukraine

U.S. Futures tumbled Wednesday night after news emerged that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Futures Down: The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell nearly 500 points as the crisis in Eastern Europe intensified. At press time, the futures traded 464.85 points, or 1.4%, lower at 33,131.76.

The S&P 500 futures were down 1.8% at 4,225.50, while the Nasdaq futures were lower by 2.6% at 13,037.49.

Ahead of the military action being announced — in the after-hours trading — shares of Apple Inc AAPL were down 0.5% at $159.21, while those of Tesla Inc TSLA was down 2.1% at $748. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY closed Wednesday 1.8% lower at 421.95. 

Both Apple and Tesla ended Wednesday’s regular session lower by 2.6% and 7% respectively at $160.07 at $764.04.

On Wednesday, Putin said clashes between Russia and Ukraine are “inevitable” and only a “question of time” in an address to the Russian people. Social media reports indicate blasts were heard in major Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv. 

Dollar, Gold, Oil Rally: The dollar index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against six other international currencies, was up 0.29% at 96.47 at press time. 

Spot gold traded 1.14% higher at $1,929.38 at press time. A sharp uptick was seen in oil futures as well with WTI Crude April 22 futures up 3.05% at $94.91 and ICE Brent April 22 futures up 2.7% at $99.44. 

Read Next: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Pull Back Again As Russia-Ukraine Crisis Intensifies, Appetite For Risk Shrinks