INTERNATIONAL: American stocks plummet as lawmakers push for a ban on Russian oil imports.

The Dow and S&P 500 recorded their worst day in over a year as US markets closed on Monday, while the Nasdaq finished its worst day in over a month.

The S&P 500 closed down almost 3% at 4,200.89, while the Dow dropped 2.4% to 32,813.56. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 3.62% to 12,380.96.

As the markets took a plunge, discussions were underway in Congress to ban US purchases of Russian oil and gas, with both Republicans and Democrats rallying behind the idea. On Monday, the White House said US President Joe Biden had not decided whether he would sign such a bill if it landed on his desk. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said in the past that sanctioning Russian oil and gas would hurt Americans faced with rising gas prices.

Europe is already dealing with record-high oil and natural gas prices. On Monday, natural gas futures trading on TTF – a virtual trading point for natural gas in the Netherlands – set an all-time record of €345 per megawatt-hour. Global oil prices hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis on Monday, with Brent crude topping out at $139 per barrel before dropping to $123. US gas prices are nearing their all-time high of $4.103 per gallon later this week.