What happened
The stock market was reeling today as Russia began a widespread invasion of Ukraine. Conflict in Europe is sending oil prices surging and has caused a panic among many investors, some of whom are selling their shares of Nvidia (NVDA 6.18%), Apple (AAPL -0.35%), and Fastly (FSLY 4.43%).
These tech stocks are following the broader market down this morning, with Nvidia tumbling 1.1%, Apple falling 2.6%, and Fastly losing 1.6% as of 10:49 a.m. ET. For context, the S&P 500 is down by 1.3%.
So what
Last night Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, with military strikes occurring throughout the country. Many countries, including the U.S. and the United Kingdom, have already issued sanctions against Russia for its aggression, but President Joe Biden is expected to announce additional sanctions this afternoon.
Image source: Getty Images.
The instability in Europe was already causing volatility in the markets over the past few days, but the escalating conflict compounded investors' pessimism today. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down by about 1% and Nvidia, Apple, and Fastly investors followed that trend by selling their shares.
The invasion of Ukraine has caused the benchmark Brent oil prices to surge to more than $103 per barrel -- the highest in eight years -- and natural gas prices rose nearly 3%. Russia is a major exporter of both oil and natural gas to Europe.
Before the invasion, shares of Nvidia, Apple, and Fastly, had already been falling for several months as investors have grown increasingly concerned with surging inflation.
Inflation in the U.S. is now at a 40-year high and the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates through 2022 and potentially beyond to curb the problem.
Higher interest rates could hurt company growth as companies will need to spend more to invest in new areas of growth.
With the Fed poised to raise interest rates as soon as next month, investors have been exiting high-growth stocks -- many of which are tech stocks -- and that's caused, at least in part, Nvidia's shares to fall 30%, Apple's stock to dip 3.5%, and Fastly's share price to drop 56% over the past three months.
Now what
Nvidia, Apple, and Fastly investors should brace themselves for more market volatility. The conflict in Ukraine likely won't be resolved quickly and continued instability in Europe could cause investors to look for safer places to put their money.
Additionally, with inflation still running rampant and Federal Reserve rate hikes just around the corner, some investors will likely be looking to move their money out of riskier investments.
But tech investors should try to keep a long-term perspective on their Nvidia, Apple, and Fastly investments, and not react to the current market fluctuations. Investing in good companies and keeping a cool head while others are panicking typically helps investors avoid huge losses.
