According to final results at the close, the Dow Jones index dropped 1.42% to 33,596.61 points.

The technology-dominated Nasdaq lost 1.23% to 13,381.52 points.

The S&P 500 fell 1.01% to 4,304.76 points.

Earlier in the day the indexes gave way to more pessimism, dropping 2%, while overnight Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the sending of troops to eastern Ukraine to support the independence demands of two rebellious regions.

During an intervention at the White House, US President Joe Biden reacted by promising to impose sanctions against banks and "Russian elites".

Russia, therefore, "can no longer raise money in the west and can no longer trade its new debt in our markets or in European markets", said Joe Biden.

Faced with these announcements, Wall Street tempered its losses at the end of the session, judging that the American Administration did not play "the worst-case scenario" and retained some leeway, estimated Art Hogan of National Securities.

“Sanctions have been deployed in a reasonable manner, the administration retains control to come back with more sanctions if necessary,” said the analyst.

Neither the Russian President himself - Vladimir Putin - nor Russia's participation in the system of international financial transactions (which would affect oil exports) were targeted by the sanctions.

"You have to keep something in your pocket as a deterrent. That's what the government has done and the market is happy not to have to factor the worst-case scenario into its prices," Hogan concluded.

The price of oil ended up sharply, however moving away from the symbolic bar of 100 dollars a barrel, brushed against in the morning for Brent.

"Tensions between Russia and Ukraine pose a low risk to US corporate earnings," JP Morgan analysts said in a note on Tuesday.

"But it's the energy price shock, amid the central bank's (Fed) monetary policy shift towards inflation-fighting, that could further weigh on investor sentiment and the outlook. growth,” they warned.

Yields on 10-year US debt remained stable around 1.93%.

The Case-Shiller index of US house prices released Tuesday rose 18.8% year on year in December, more than expected, a new element from fueling inflation, noted analysts at Schwab.

Consumer confidence in the United States also fell slightly in February, for the second month in a row, according to the Conference Board index released on Tuesday.

The eleven sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the red, weighed down by consumer products (-3.04%).

The DIY chain Home Depot was sanctioned (-8.85% to 316.17 dollars), after warning that 2022 would see a deceleration in its growth.

The group has however announced record turnover and a sharp increase in the dividend for 2021.

The department store chain Macy's, which nevertheless surprised positively with a jump in sales of 28% over the past quarter, saw its title drop by 4.98%, to 24.42 dollars.

Shares of automakers fell as the sector worries about new problems in the supply chain that the escalating crisis in Ukraine may cause.

Ford lost 4.16%, GM 3.77% and Tesla slipped 4.14% to $821.53.

© 2022 AFP