Pro on Ukraine war: ‘you’re better off buying than bailing’

U.S. stocks ended in the red on Tuesday after satellite imagery showed a huge Russian convoy headed toward Kyiv, sparking fears that Putin is set to launch a full-scale assault on the capital of Ukraine.

What to buy amidst Ukraine-driven sell-off?

The S&P 500 index, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Averages – all three indices closed a little under 2.0% down today, keeping the year-to-date decline over 10%. Still, CFRA’s Sam Stovall says the prospect for a full recovery before year end remains on the table. On CNBC’s “Closing Bell”, he said:

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History tells us that we’ve normally seen market declines in the first quarter of years following gains of 20% or more and in all of those, we ended up getting back to break-even before the year was out. History also typically says you’re better off buying than bailing amidst military conflicts.

He recommends buying stocks with strong and growing dividend yield to navigate the volatility that he agrees tends to be higher in the second presidential year. Names like Amgen, Philip Morris, Conagra, Blackstone, Omnicom Group etc. are on his list.

Russia and Ukraine to hold second round of peace talks tomorrow

Officials from Russia and Ukraine are scheduled for a second round of peace talks on Wednesday. Ahead of it, however, the assault on Ukraine continues as Russian missiles hit government offices, a concert hall, and an opera house in Freedom Square, Kharkiv; killing at least 10 civilians. 

The Russian stock market remained closed for trading amidst the Ukraine war. The iShares MSCI Russia ETF tanked another 33% on Tuesday. The geopolitical tensions sent brent crude to over $105 a barrel today, while natural gas climbed to $5.0 as Kyiv prepared for a major Russian attack.

The U.S. and its allies have pledged to remove Russia from the global payments network, Swift – a sanction that President Vladimir Putin says will be an “act of war”. He ordered Russian nuclear forces to be on high alert earlier this week.