Wall St Cuts Losses Further After Biden Comments On Ukraine

U.S. stocks further trimmed losses on Tuesday afternoon after U.S. President Joe Biden commented on Ukraine, including announcing the first wave of sanctions against Russia for what he said was the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine.

Biden also said he was hopeful diplomacy is still available, adding that the United States had no intention of fighting Russia. He said the sanctions, among others things, target Russian banks and sovereign debt.

"The world is still hoping this is somewhat limited and doesn't really spread across Europe and Ukraine," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Earlier on Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance believed Russia was still planning a big assault on Ukraine following Moscow's recognition of two separatist regions in the former Soviet republic's east.

Britain published a list of sanctions and Germany froze the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, which would have significantly increased the flow of Russian gas.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 368.74 points, or 1.08%, to 33,710.44, the S&P 500 lost 26.03 points, or 0.60%, to 4,322.84 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 83.83 points, or 0.62%, to 13,464.24.

The Dow and Nasdaq were each down more than 2% shortly before Biden spoke.