By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com – Stocks rode up and down in a volatile session after President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will ban imports of oil and energy products from Russia.
The U.K. also said it would phase out imports of Russian oil and other energy products by the end of the year, Reuters reported.
The price of oil rocketed past $130 a barrel for the international benchmark Brent and gasoline prices at the pump in the United States are at record highs above $4 nationally. In some locations, gas prices are as high as $6 a barrel and climbing.
Biden has promised American voters he would try to get a handle on rising prices that are crimping household budgets.
The U.S. and allies agreed to release a total of 60 million barrels from their strategic oil reserves – half of that to come from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. But rising gasoline prices may make Biden’s clean energy promise more difficult to sell, at least in the near term.
Stocks have been on a roller coaster ride this year amid an escalating crisis in Ukraine brought on by the invasion of Russia. Since late February, a growing list of Western companies have pulled their business from Russia, including on Tuesday McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO).
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. New Apple gadgets
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced its newest version of the iPhone SE with its latest mobile processor and 5G capability on Tuesday and people will likely still be talking about it this week. The tech giant said the latest edition of its entry-level iPhone will include the "toughest glass on a smartphone" and starts at $429, with pre-orders starting Friday, March 18. The new SE will also have the advanced features of Apple's latest A15 bionic chip.
2. Oil ban from Russia
The U.S.’s unilateral move to ban Russian oil imports adds to a raft of global sanctions already imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. European allies may be too dependent for now on Russia, particularly for its natural gas, to institute similar action. Biden acknowledged that European allies might not yet be in a position to join the U.S. in this extra step to exert pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. But stay tuned for news from EU.
3. Google cybersecurity deal
Not to be overlooked was Tuesday’s deal by Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG)'s Google to acquire cybersecurity company Mandiant for approximately $5.4 billion, which could inspire a chain of similar deals. Google will pay $23 per share for Mandiant in a move it says is to protect against risks facing its Google Cloud customers. Mandiant will join Google Cloud once the deal goes through.
--Reuters and Investing.com staff contributed to this report