• The Nasdaq rose 0.4% to close Monday’s session at 13,751 points.
• Lordstown Motors tumbled 20% on Q4 update & additional capital raising.
• Novavax fell 5% in after-hours trade on missing estimates for the fourth-quarter.

The US markets opened lower on Monday but closed the session mixed as investors grew increasingly concerned about the potential consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s defence forces to be on high alert including nuclear arms.

The Dow Jones fell 0.49% to finish the trading day down 166 points to close at 33,893 points.

The tech heavy NASDAQ rose 0.4% to finish the trading day up 57 points to close at 13,751 points with Tesla and Netflix gaining 7.48% and 0.95% respectively.

One bitcoin is worth US$43,177 going into the Asian trading day.

The Australian dollar is stronger against the major currencies and is buying 72.61 US cents.

Shares in EV pickup truck maker Lordstown Motors tumbled 20% on Monday after the company announced it is looking for additional capital to fund ‘commercial launch of the Endurance and operating plan’. Lordstown Motors also announced during its fourth-quarter update that it plans to only have up to 3000 trucks produced by the end of 2023 which didn’t impress investors.

Novavax shares fell 5% in after-hours trade following the release of the vaccine-maker’s fourth quarter and FY21 results that missed estimates on both top and bottom lines. For the period, Novavax reported revenue of US$222m, below the expected US$332m, but the company said it now expects sales between US$4-US$5bn in 2022.

And Airbnb has announced it will house up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees for free to aid with housing as many people fleeing the Russian-invaded country as possible.