All three major U.S. stock benchmarks ended lower Tuesday, after a volatile trading session, with the $S&P 500 index(.SPX.US)$ booking the session's largest percentage drop, as investors weighed an American ban on imports of Russian oil and soaring commodity prices.

The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$, S&P 500 and $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ each have fallen for four straight trading days, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

How did stock indexes perform?

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 184.74, or 0.6%, to close at 32,632.64.

• The S&P 500 fell 30.39 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 4,170.70.

• The Nasdaq Composite declined 35.41, or 0.3%, to end at 12,795.55.

Stocks fell sharply on Monday, with the S&P 500 logging its biggest daily drop since Oct. 28, 2020. The Dow's decline saw the blue-chip gauge enter a market correction, as the benchmark was 11% lower than its Jan. 4 record high, while the Nasdaq entered a bear market, with the tech-heavy index down more than 20% from its record peak in November.

What drove markets?

President Joe Biden announced a U.S. ban on Russian oil imports.

Russia's deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, said the country could cut vital natural gas supplies to Europe, and said oil prices could jump to $300 per barrel if the West imposed a ban on Russian oil.

"The great concern of war on the continent has everyone alarmed," said John Lynch, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management, in a phone interview Tuesday. Investors worry about the ways Russia's invasion of Ukraine adds to already high inflation, he said, pointing to the jump in cost of commodities in areas such as metals, agriculture and energy.

Oil futures ended higher Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery rising 3.6% to settle at $123.70 a barrel. That's the highest front-month contract finish since Aug. 1, 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Energy has been "part of our cyclical play" in the stock market, said Lynch. "It's getting very expensive but it looks like there's room to run."

Shares of $Chevron(CVX.US)$ closed 5.2% higher Tuesday, while $Exxon Mobil(XOM.US)$ finished up 0.8%, according to FactSet data.

"The surge in oil prices has benefited U.S. energy stocks," noted David Bahnsen, chief investment officer at the Bahnsen Group, in emailed comments. Energy is the only one of the S&P 500's 11 sectors in positive territory for 2022, soaring nearly 39% this year, FactSet data show.

"With higher prices, oil producers receive higher profits for their product. Even with the surge in oil prices, there are still additional opportunities in the energy stock sector, such as the midstream area, which is responsible for transporting and storing oil," he said. "The transportation of energy plays a huge future of the U.S. energy story."

The gyrations in commodities markets continued Tuesday, this time in nickel, where on the London Metal Exchange, prices jumped past $100,000 per ton before a trading halt

"Investors should be prepared for further market volatility, and losses from here are still possible," said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors, in a note. "Even as headlines disrupt and distort the underlying picture, the investment trends that are emerging are based on fundamentals, and therefore should likely solidify in the coming weeks and months ahead."

Shah said that given the chaos, U.S. equities "have held up well -- particularly relative to Europe." The Stoxx Europe 600 has dropped around 15% so far in 2022, while the S&P 500, the U.S. large-cap benchmark, is down more than 12%.

Not only is this a reflection of the underlying strength of the U.S. economy, but also America's status as a net energy exporter.

By contrast, as a net energy importer dependent on Russian oil and gas, the European economy faces considerably greater downside economic risk."

-she said.

In U.S. economic data Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index dropped 1.4 points to 95.7 in February, a one-year low. The largest number of small businesses since 1981 said high inflation is their chief worry, with many increasing prices to offset their own rising costs.

"Small businesses are really challenged," said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust, in a phone interview Tuesday. "They're attributing a lot of that to inflation" in their cost of goods and labor, he said.

Meanwhile, the U.S.  trade deficit climbed 9.4% in January to a record $89.7 billion as the U.S. bought more foreign oil, autos and other goods.

"The deficit is going to be a drag on first-quarter GDP," said Tilley. "We're buying a lot more than we're selling abroad."