Markets on edge as Crimea votes to quit Ukraine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock investors will start the week on edge as markets worldwide react to the referendum that appears to back Russia's claim to Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, even if the vote result is not internationally recognized.

U.S. stocks closed on Friday with their largest weekly drop in the last seven weeks as the worst confrontation between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War continues to unfold. Markets were also haunted by concerns over a slowdown in China's economy.

Dozens of Russians involved in Moscow's gradual takeover of Crimea face U.S. and European Union travel bans and asset freezes on Monday. Russian state media quoted an exit poll as saying 93 percent of voters supported union with Russia.

The White House rejected the referendum and called Russia's actions "dangerous and destabilizing."

"There's an open question as to who suffers most," said Sam Wardwell, investment strategist at Pioneer Investments in Boston, about the planned economic sanctions.

"The EU is dependent on Russian natural gas; it's an economic mutually assured destruction."

Last week's record decline in foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries has led some to speculate that Russia has been cutting its dollar reserves ahead of possible sanctions from the West.

"It will be harder to make a new high (on the S&P 500) with these global and geopolitical effects overhanging," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

"I don't know if these warnings signs result in dire results, but they are certainly to be considered when making a macro bet."

The S&P 500 closed last week down 2 percent after hitting a record close on March 7. The decline in U.S. stocks was smaller than in other major markets but investors have been protecting their bets with other instruments.

The CBOE Volatility index VIX jumped near 10 percent to 17.82 on Friday, its highest level since early February, as investors were willing to pay more for protection against a drop in the S&P 500.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/markets-edge-crimea-votes-quit-194701424.html

 

You don't. And no one else does either.

It's better for most to buy a little each week or month than dump it all in at once anyway.