US Shares Retreat On Dismal Market Sentiment

US equities are recording losses in the North American session as Wall Street is about to finish March on a lower note. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite are falling between 0.30% and 0.43%, each one sitting at 4,576.32, 35075.94, and 15,014.01 respectively

Obviously, a negative market mood weighed on US equities. A risk-off market mood courtesy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and continued fighting between Russia and Ukraine, keep grabbing the headlines.

Russian President Putin signed a decree establishing natural gas trade rules, like payments in roubles, new proceedings in euros and US dollar could also be blocked. If demands are not met, current contracts will be halted.

The US dollar rose on the headline. In fact, it remains firm, as portrayed by the US Dollar Index, up 0.43%, sitting at 98.256. Contrarily, US Treasury yields continue falling for the second consecutive day, down four basis points, down at 2.316%.

Aside from this, Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Real Estate are the leaders of the trading session, up 0.69%, 0.34%, and 0.27%. The laggards are Communication Services, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary, down 1.14%, 1.02%, and 0.78%.

In the commodities complex, the US crude oil benchmark, WTI, is losing 5.27%, trading at $101.73 BPD, weighed by news that the Biden administration would tap 1 Million BPD from the SPR oil reserves for a period of six months. Precious metals like gold (XAU/USD) are rising 0.61%, exchanging hands at $1944.55 a troy ounce, boosted by a risk-off sentiment.