The technology index closed on a depression of 2.04% at 12,581.22 points while the Dow Jones ended on a stable note at 32,945.24 points.
The Dow Jones index stagnated and the Nasdaq plunged back into bear market territory on Monday during a choppy session on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to final results at the close, the Dow Jones index remained stable at 32,945.24 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.04% to 12,581.22 points. The S&P 500 index lost 0.74% to 4,173.11 points.
The Nasdaq is back in the “bear market” (referring to the bear lowering its paw when it attacks), which means the market is down more than 20% from its late November peak.
Trading, which had started in the green, was dominated by volatility as investors reacted to geopolitical developments and China’s renewed COVID-19 contagion.
The fourth round of talks between Ukraine and Russia is due to resume on Tuesday, a kyiv negotiator has reported.
Sunday, a Russian negotiator had mentioned “significant progress”, which had given the indexes a boost at the start of the session.
At the same time, the Russian bombardments continue to rage.
Two people were killed in Russian bombardments on kyiv which targeted a residential building and an aircraft factory. Nine people were killed in a strike by the Russian army against a television tower near Rivne (west).
The Russian army “does not exclude the possibility of taking full control of the large cities which are already surrounded”, warned the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov.
In addition, Washington said it was “deeply” concerned about the position “of alignment of China with Russia” for the war in Ukraine.
“Chinese stocks listed in the United States have been under pressure following reports that Russia has asked China for military aid in Ukraine,” said Wells Fargo analysts.
Chinese online shopping sites Alibaba and JD.com each lost more than 10%.
Additionally, “China is seeing the largest increase in COVID cases since March 2020, which has triggered lockdowns in several cities, including Shenzhen,” a major tech hub, Schwab reported.
Apple lost 2.66% to 150.62 dollars as one of its suppliers, Foxconn, had to suspend operations in Shenzhen.
Other tech stocks also lost ground like Amazon (-2.52% to $2,837.06), Alphabet (-2.86% to $2,534.82) and chipmakers like Nvidia (-3.48 %) or AMD (-1.96%).
The laboratories manufacturing vaccines against COVID-19 had the wind in their sails like Moderna (+8.59% to 150.07 dollars) or Pfizer (+3.94% to 52.25 dollars).
Yields in the bond market stretched sharply as investors expect the U.S. central bank (Fed) to begin a cycle of rate hikes as early as Wednesday following a two-day monetary meeting.
Yields on ten-year Treasury bills climbed to 2.13%, their highest since July 2019.
Markets expect the Fed to hike overnight rates by a quarter of a percentage point (0.25%) for the first time since 2018.
Stocks in the financial sector were boosted by the prospect of higher rates: Visa gained 1.84% and American Express 2.91%.