S&P 500 ends lower; European markets close slightly lower as new sanctions imposed on Russia; banks fall 4.4% 
The S&P 500 closed lower Monday, as investors weighed up the impact of hard-hard-hitting sanctions on Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The S&P 500 fell 0.30%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%,or 179 points, the Nasdaq was up 0.4%.Among the biggest decliners, Citigroup (NYSE:C) fell more than 4% after warning of a $5.4 billion hit from exposure to Russian assets. JPMorgan Chase(NYSE:JPM), meanwhile, suspended its emerging Europe fund and Russia fund, sending its shares more than 4% lower. 
As well as the impact of sanctions on Russia, investor sentiment on banks was also hurt by falling U.S. Treasury yields, which trade inversely to prices, as investors fled to safety. 
BP (NYSE:BP), however fell 5% after announcing that it would sell its 19.75% stake in Russian oil company Rosneft at a loss of up to $25 billion. Rival Shell (LON:RDSa) also said it would exit all its Russia operations that could result in impairments of about $3 billion. 
Defense stocks, which benefit during times of war, were up sharply, with Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) rising more than 5%. 
In other news, electric vehicle stocks were in the ascendency on bets that soaring energy prices would hasten the adoption of EVs.  Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) jumped 7% after Bernstein hiked its price target on the company to $450 from $300. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended down 0.2%, with banks plunging 4.4% to lead losses on the back of fresh sanctions. 
Defense companies rallied hard in early trade, with Rheinmetall soaring 25% to lead gains after the German government’s decision to increase defense spending. Shares of BAE Systems, Leonardo and Thales all saw double-digit bounces.