The stock markets have been under pressure since the start of the year due to the macroeconomic headwinds and worsening geopolitical tensions. Furthermore, market volatility has surged 17.4% over the past five days as Russia invades Ukraine. President Biden has announced new economic sanctions against Russia in response to its full-scale invasion.
These concerns have added to prevailing worries surrounding the Fed’s forthcoming interest rate increases to combat inflation. The benchmark S&P 500 Index has declined 8% year-to-date and 4.6% over the past three months. As a result of the escalating Russia-Ukraine war, more than 94% of the stocks in the S&P 500 have declined over the past two weeks.
