U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday as fears of a
confrontation between Russia and Ukraine eased. The S&P 500 hit a record high
Tuesday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up almost 200 points near
midday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
said there was no need to use military force in the Crimea region for now. Putin also ordered
troops involved in a military exercise near the Ukrainian border back to their
bases as he sought to ease tensions a day after Russian stocks, bonds and
currency were hammered.
Global stocks were
also higher while gold, the Japanese yen and Treasuries prices fell. Crude oil
prices, up more than 2 percent on Monday on Russia's standing as top exporter,
reversed some of last session's gain.