Investors are assessing the consequences of the intensifying conflict, from sanctions to shortages and price surges. : Investors are assessing the consequences of the intensifying conflict, from sanctions to shortages and price surges. The markets have been unsettled for many reasons this year, but the escalating conflict between Ukraine and Russia pushed them past a symbolic milestone yesterday. The S&P 500 slipped into a so-called correction, defined as a decline of least 10 percent from the most recent high.