Dow drops more than 600 points in worst decline of 2022 as Russia-Ukraine tensions worry investors; European markets close lower as investors track geopolitical tensions 
Stocks slumped Thursday amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine with confused investors dumping risky assets and rotating into bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst daily performance of the year on a points and percentage basis. 
The blue-chip average shed about 622.24 points, or 1.8%, to 34,312.03, steadily declining throughout the trading day. The S&P 500 dipped 2.1% to 4.380.26. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9% to 13,716.72. 
Consumer staples — known as defensive stocks that tend to be stable regardless of how the overall market performs — were the top-performing sector, rising nearly 1%. 
Walmart led the consumer staples sector after a quarterly report that topped expectations and reaffirmed guidance. The big-box retailer’s shares rose 4%. 
Palantir sunk 15.8% after the company missed profit expectations. Nvidia fell 7.5% despite a better-than-expected earnings report as the chip maker’s first-quarter gross margin guidance came in slightly lower than analysts expected. 
Cisco rose 2.7% after the company also topped estimates and raised guidance. DoorDash saw its shares jump 10.7% after reporting better-than-expected revenue and order numbers. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended down 0.75% as reports of artillery fire and U.S. warnings of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine soured risk assets. 
Commerzbank posted a better-than-expected net profit in the fourth quarter despite undergoing a major strategic overhaul, and offered positive guidance for 2022. The German lender’s shares climbed 4.1% by early afternoon deals. 
Source: CNBC, Investing.com