Political | Process

The invasion comes as global equity markets were already reeling because of decades-high inflation.

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• The S&P 500 was down 1.3%, as the benchmark plunged further into correction territory. The index sits more than 12% away from its Jan. 3 record close.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 700 points. The blue-chip measure is more than 11% off its record. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5% after opening in bear market territory, down more than 20% from its high in November 2021. The Nasdaq has since traded out of that range.

• After a rough open, stocks have come off their lows of the day. The Dow was down more than 800 points earlier in the session. The Nasdaq was down nearly 3.5% at one point.

• Investors appeared to be buying the dip on some of the biggest tech names. Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet and Microsoft all traded higher — erasing sharp declines from earlier in the day. Tesla was also well off its session lows, trading just 0.1% lower. Apple shares pared losses as well, and were down about 2.4%.

• Moscow launched the military action in Ukraine overnight Thursday. There were reports of explosions and missile strikes on several key Ukrainian cities including its capital, Kyiv. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the invasion “the demilitarization” of Ukraine and said Russia’s plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories.

• NATO, the most powerful military alliance in the world, is set to reinforce its presence on its eastern front following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden condemned the attack, saying in a statement that “the world hold Russia accountable.”

• “Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way,” Biden said.

• Investors can follow along CNBC’s live blog tracking Thursday’s developments in Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

• The Russia invasion “is really worse than a baseline expectation that we had or the markets had. I would argue we are talking basically another 5% to 6% down which would put us close to 20% or bear market territory,” said Binky Chadha, chief U.S. equity and global strategist at Deutsche Bank,” on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday.