Dow futures plunges over 800 points after Russia invades Ukraine

The current turmoil in the market may provide an opportunity to long term investors to get an exposure in US stock market.

Along with the global stock market crash, US stock futures are bearing the brunt of the equity slowdown. Dow futures were down more than 800 points while Nasdaq 100 futures and S&P 500 futures were down 2.48 percent and 3.05 percent. Equity prices have taken a big hit, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine following Vladimir Putin's announcement of a military operation in Ukraine.

For the first time since the depth of the pandemic, the Nasdaq 100 Index is expected to fall into a bear market. The S&P 500 is already down more than 15% year-over-year, indicating a technical correction.

In addition to rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine due to rising oil prices, investors are also worried about the Federal Reserve's March meeting to signal rising inflation and a surge in interest rates.

The Fed meeting is scheduled for March 15-16 and the prospect in the current context is a quarter percentage point rate hike next month.

Since the start of the month, more than a third of the stocks on the Nasdaq 100, which represents the exchange's largest non-financial companies, are down at least 50% from their 52-week highs. Meanwhile, the percentage of shares on the Nasdaq Composite that made a new 52-week high was up just 1% on Wednesday.

At a time when investors grapple with geopolitical tensions in Russia that threaten to disrupt global oil markets, inflation is more likely to rise as energy prices rise higher.

Tech and growth stocks, whose valuations ballooned during the pandemic, are no longer favourable, as borrowing costs are expected to rise much higher than current levels. Big Tech was a favorite among investors as the pandemic shut down the US economy in 2020.

The performance of the top US stocks is not uniform across the spectrum. This month, Facebook's parent Meta Platforms Inc. posted the worst one-day drop in market cap in stock-market history, while Amazon.com Inc. posted the biggest single-day gain in market capitalization in US history.

The current volatility in the market may provide an opportunity for long-term investors to invest in the US stock market. US ETFs provide access to investors who wish to invest in US markets.