Markets stagger as Russia sanctions intensify – Reuters

Markets stagger as Russia sanctions intensify – Reuters

March 8 (Reuters) - Plummeting stocks, soaring commodity prices and tightening global financial conditions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are clouding the outlook for markets already unsettled by the prospect of a hawkish Federal Reserve.

Dramatic moves are everywhere you look, from a bear market in the Nasdaq Composite Index and wild rallies in oil and other raw materials to surges in popular haven assets such as gold and the U.S. dollar.

Hanging over it all is the Fed, which is widely expected to raise rates at its monetary policy meeting next week for the first time in more than three years. Some investors now worry that the U.S. central bank will have to keep raising rates to contain rising inflation despite an expected hit to growth from geopolitical instability, risking a recession.