March 1, 2022

U.S. stocks closed down on the first day of March as oil prices surged and investors continue to monitor the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.

Dow Jones finished -598 at 33,294

S&P 500 finished -68 at 4,306

NASDAQ finished -219 at 13,532

The 10 Year Treasury closed down 11 basis points yielding 1.73%

Oil prices closed up $8.78 ending at $104.50 a barrel.

Gold prices closed up $45.90 ending at $1,946 an ounce.

In the days’ stock news:

Financial stocks were among the biggest losers Tuesday. Bank of America was down 4%, while Wells Fargo closed down almost 6%. Falling Treasury yields could potentially take a bite out of bank profits, while the conflict in Eastern Europe and sanctions on Russia have some traders worried about disruption in credit markets.
Target closed up 10% after the company reported 9% sales growth in the fiscal fourth quarter, despite supply chain pressures, and said it’s poised to keep that momentum going.