NEW YORK, Feb 24 — Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower today, joining a global equity sell-off after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lifted energy prices and prompted debate on further sanctions.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.1 per cent at 32,441.89.

The broad-based S&P 500 also declined 1.6 per cent to 4,156.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.5 per cent to 12,843.65.

US President Joe Biden was meeting with G7 allies to hammer out a raft of new sanctions after earlier measures failed to prevent the attack launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Now that the deterrent has failed, the effort is likely to see rapid escalation intended to inflict real pain on Russia’s already shaky economy.

While Biden has spoken about a potential attack for days, the drop in stocks showed that investors had not fully grasped that possibility, analysts said.

"I think that people thought something was coming,” said LBBW’s Karl Haeling. "But a lot of people didn’t think it would come this quick.”

In light of uncertainty over Ukraine and shifting Federal Reserve policy, "there’s not gonna be any quick rebound from this,” Haeling said. "And I’m not saying it’s gonna go massively lower, but you know, it’s not gonna rebound anytime right away.”

Oil prices pushed higher, topping US$100 (RM420) a barrel for the first time in seven years, while the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note pulled back, suggesting strong demand for bonds. 

Gold, another safe haven investment, also rose. — AFP