Stock futures fell early Tuesday as Russia’s Vladimir Putin updated the country’s nuclear doctrine.
The changes mean that Russia will now view any attack by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack, Russian news agency TASS reported Tuesday. It lowers the threshold for a nuclear response.
“Moscow also reserves the right to consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack threatening its sovereignty, a large-scale launch of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory, their crossing of the Russian border, and an attack on its ally Belarus,” TASS added.
It comes after President Biden authorized Ukrainian forces to use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia, as the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.4% after both were initially higher earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, or 271 points ahead of the open.
Gold futures jumped 1.8% to $2,610 a troy ounce as investors moved into safe-haven assets.
“While likely more saber rattling from the Kremlin, it does take the world closer to a terrifying miscalculation. Gains in indices have been wiped out, and investors are once again turning cautious on fears of further escalation,” IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said Tuesday.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes closed higher Monday following the worst week for stocks since September. However, the Dow was lower for the day. The energy sector played a big role in the S&P 500’s gains, following a jump in oil prices–a good day for Tesla and Super Micro Computer also helped.
Earnings season is coming to a close but it’s not quite over yet. AI chip maker Nvidia will report after the bell Wednesday, and it could once again be pivotal for market momentum–particularly among tech stocks. Nvidia’s nine-day stint as the world’s most valuable company came to an end Monday as Apple reclaimed the title. That could all change again later this week.
Retail earnings will also be in focus as Lowe’s and Walmart both report before the open, and Target releases results Wednesday.