Wall Street slides as oil prices surge, Nasdaq confirms bear market

Wall Street slides as oil prices surge, Nasdaq confirms bear market

Representative image (Source: Reuters)



Wall Street's main indexes fell sharply on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite confirming it was in a bear market, as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia sent crude prices soaring and fueled concerns about rising inflation.

Nasdaq ended down 20.1% from its Nov. 19 record high close, confirming the tech-heavy index has been in a bear market since hitting that record high, according to a widely used definition. That marks the Nasdaq's first bear market since 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak crushed global economies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 10.8% from its Jan. 4 closing record high, confirming it was in a correction. A correction is confirmed when an index closes 10% or more below its record closing level.

Oil prices jumped to their highest levels since 2008 as the United States and European allies considered banning Russian oil imports, in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine, while it looked less likely that Iranian crude would return swiftly to global markets.

Russia calls the campaign a "special operation".

Energy, the standout S&P 500 group so far this year, was one of the only sectors logging a gain on Monday, rising 1.6%.

“That concern on