The turmoil on global financial markets intensified Monday, with U.S. stocks plunging the most in 17 months and commodity prices relentlessly powering higher as the fallout from war in Ukraine threatened the global economy.
The S&P 500 sank almost 3% for its worst day since October 2020, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 3.7% and the Nasdaq Composite closed in bear market territory. Nickel surged 90% to a record on worry over potential shortages, oil settled at the highest in a decade and wheat approached records after a 7% jump. Earlier, the Euro Stoxx 50 and Germany’s DAX index also closed in bear markets. The spread between two-year and 10-year Treasuries briefly dropped below 20 basis points, a level not seen since March 2020 and a bearish sign for the economy.
