December S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESZ24) are down -0.40%, and December Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQZ24) are down -0.32% this morning as risk sentiment took a hit after Russian President Vladimir Putin updated the country’s nuclear doctrine, while investors awaited fresh data on the U.S. housing market and an earnings report from retail giant Walmart.
Markets were rattled by news that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing Russia to use nuclear weapons in response to a large-scale conventional attack on its territory, including by drones. Russia will consider aggression against itself or its allies by a non-nuclear state, supported by nuclear powers, as a collective attack, according to the document posted online. This follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy to target military sites in Russia using U.S.-made long-range weapons. A report from RBC-Ukraine indicated that the first such strike has occurred.
