Sam Boughedda

Investing.com – Stocks tumbled on Monday after a weekend of escalating attacks by Russia in Ukraine and talk that the U.S. and western allies might ban imports of Russian oil.

Oil prices rose to $130 on Monday night due to talk of a ban, but they eased back during the U.S. session. But, commodities prices continue to soar due to concern over supply shocks caused by the conflict in Ukraine.

The U.S. has seen gas prices rise to levels that have not been seen since 2008.

Next week, the Federal Reserve will meet to determine the direction of interest rate rises. However, many worry that the Fed may make mistakes in trying to control inflation in the face of the crisis in Eastern Europe.

Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell backed a quarter point rate hike at its March 15-16 policy meeting. He told Congress he would  move more aggressively later if inflation didn’t abate.

The Biden administration is considering banning Russian oil imports as a way of turning up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who himself is the subject of sanctions over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. 

Tens of thousands of refugees continued to stream across Ukraine’s western borders with Poland and other neighboring countries, creating a humanitarian crisis that western allies were rushing to aid. This week, Congress will consider an estimated $10 billion package of relief for Ukraine.

Three things could impact the markets in tomorrow’s future:

1. Apple peek

Apple Inc (NASDAQ 🙂 holds its annual product launch, titled “Peek Performance”. Apple will announce a variety of product upgrades at the event. The most anticipated announcement is the iPhone SE 5G with Macbook upgrade. 

Apple’s entry-level iPhone, the iPhone SE. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives — who has an outperform rating and $200 price target on Apple — told investors in a note Monday that he expects the company to launch its third iPhone SE alongside a revamped iPad Air and a new Mac version. 

2. AMC tickets

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:) had its third most attended weekend since the opening of movie theatres in summer 2020. AMC stores sold more than 4 million tickets worldwide from Thursday to Sunday. AMC credits the Warner Bros. Batman movie’s success. This weekend’s attendance was more than double the annual average for 2019, 2020, and 2019.

3. Oil climbs

Prices hit their 2008 peak Monday, as prices rose despite the United States’ and Europe’s proposed ban on Russian oil. While analysts warned that prices could rise to $150 per barrel in the future, an analysis found that Americans drive less. However, fuel prices are at all-time highs.

The U.S. National Average for Gasoline jumped to $4.104 per Gallon Monday. It was just above its previous record of $4.103 per Gallon, which occurred in 2008 before the Great Recession.

–Reuters and Investing.com staff contributed to this report