The increasing chaos in Ukraine led to an increase in demand of haven assets, causing the US stocks to fall and reducing the weekly gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

For example, Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) declined by 4 percent while Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:MNST) witnessed an increase of 27 percent after Coca-Cola Co. (NASDAQ:COKE) signed an agreement to buy a stake in the company.

The S&P 500 (SPX) declined to 1,949.24 in New York. This happened at 1:25 p.m. when trading in S&P 500 stocks was almost 10 percent higher than the average for the month. This sudden downfall was not expected however, the Ukraine headlines have made the markets extremely sensitive and reactionary.

The S&P 500 had increased by 1.2 percent this week until this volatility of the market rapidly increased. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) normally shows a change opposite to the movement of S&P 500 but during the past week rose to 13.42.

Industrial production rose by 0.4 percent in July but the New York Fed Empire Manufacturing gauge moved in the opposite direction. Consumer confidence showed an unexpected and sudden decline to the lowest level.

On the other hand, wholesale prices witnessed a slower rate of increase primarily because the costs of fuel decreased by a large amount. Since there are lesser price pressures, the Fed has the opportunity to limit the purchases of monthly bonds.

However, the current economic stronghold of the country requires the Fed’s to implement the new rates as soon as possible. The U.S. central bank has agreed to continue with its monthly bond buys and the benchmark rate will be kept on the downside for a certain period of time even after the time for bond purchasing ends. Moreover, due to the weaknesses of the job market, the aim to bring inflation rate to 2 percent by 2018 seems quite difficult to achieve.

Earnings Scorecard

Approximately 19 S&P 500 companies, which include Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) and Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) will be releasing their earnings by the end of next week. Till now, almost 76 percent of these companies have crossed the estimates for earnings and nearly 65 percent have outperformed the estimates for sales.

Furthermore, stocks of 8 S&P companies sank 0.7 percent causing them to retreat today. Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN) declined to $65.94 which is the lowest figure ever since May. It is reported that the luxury store chain missed its estimates because it reported Same Store Sales in the last four months.

Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) soared to $91.16. Coca-Cola Co. (NASDAQ:COKE), on the other hand, bought a 17 percent stake in Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) for nearly $2.15 billion. This opened up new opportunities for it in the energy-drink market.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) also witnessed a rise of nearly 4.6 percent. It is expected that this largest manufacturer of semiconductors and display equipment will hit new records primarily because it has been able to get its rivals’ orders of display machines.

Under the terms of the deal, Coke will hand over its energy drink business, which includes brands such as Full Throttle, NOS, Mother, Play, Power Play, Relentless, and Burn, to Monster. In turn, Monster will transfer its business not associated with energy drinks, such as Peace Tea, Hansen’s Natural Sodas, Hansen’s Juice Products, and Hubert’s Lemonade, to Coke.

Analysts and industry experts have long expected Monster to be a target for a takeover, and identified Coke as the best candidate to buyout the energy drink company. Sales in the energy drink space have been a shining beacon in the market for beverages, even though their sales growth has flattened a bit in the last few quarters.

This announcement rides on the back of Coke’s struggles in the traditional soda market. The soda sales growth all over the globe is on the decline for the third year in a row now. Coke’s worldwide soda volumes dropped in the first quarter of 2014 for the first time since 1999. However, carbonated beverages still contribute to more than 70 percent of its global sales volumes.

Under the deal, Coke will also place two directors on Monster’s executive board. Monster will also make Coke its preferred global distribution partner, and Monster will now be Coke’s exclusive energy drink partner.

The deal is expected to close sometime in late 2o14 or early 2015.s

In after hours trading after the deal was announced, stock prices of Monster leapt 21 percent to $86.78. Coke shares rose by 1.4 percent to $40.74.

The deal with Monster is the second big investment this year. Earlier in 2014, the soda company purchased a 10 percent stake in Keurig Green Mountain Inc (NASDAQ: GMCR). Coke had paid roughly $1.25 billion for the specialty coffeemaker company. In the deal, Coke also agreed to a 10 year partnership where it will sell its drinks through an at-home beverage system that is currently being developed by Keurig Green Mountain. This product is expected to hit retail stores sometime next year.

The deal with Keurig Green Mountain provides Coke with a vast amount of market power in the coffee and tea space. Keurig Green Mountain is the maker of the Keurig single serve coffee machine. The coffee and tea space has been growing at a faster rate than soda in the past few years, mainly due to the fact that Americans are changing their preferences to caffine and warm beverages.

Coke later disclosed that they will increase their stake in Keurig Green Mountain to 16 percent.

The competitor of Coca Cola (NYSE:KO), PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP), is also struggling hard to capture the market share through its carbonated drinks. The shares of PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP) have gained 12 percent over the same time period of 5 years.

The reduction in sales cannot be blamed at Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) as it is trying hard to draw the target audience towards its products. The consumers, on the other hand, have changed their beverages from sodas to healthier sports and energy drinks. This shift in consumers’ preference has shrunken the margins and caused the sales to drop down.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) has a price to earnings ratio of 22 and its stocks value is at $42. The company’s P/E is 3 points lower than the industry average but analysts have given it a strong ‘buy’ rating for its long-term margins look promising. Moreover, the market research firms are of the opinion that the stocks will trade at or near $46 by the end of the year 2014 as the company has focused on diversifying its product’s chain.

For the first quarter, around 80 percent of the company’s sales and profits were made in foreign countries and around 55 percent of that profit came from developing and emerging markets, which include Africa and India: the sales were increased by 6 percent and 8 percent respectively in both these countries.

The growth in the emerging markets is filling the gap in sales caused by the developed markets. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) sales, in the region of North America, dropped by 1 percent during the first quarter of the year 2014. The company is trying to improve the sales in that region with the help of promotional shifts and product mixes, as it has recently launched the Coca-Cola Life. Coca-Cola Life is healthier in a way that it is a mixture of sugar and stevia, a plant based sweetener. The product is getting much popularity in the areas of Chile and Argentina where consumers have become more health-conscious. The company is now planning to launch Coca-Cola Life in other developed markets as well.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) has remained successful in seizing its share of the market gain through the sales of soft drinks. The company’s gross profit margin is at 61.40 percent whereas its net profit margin is at 18.32 percent, way more than the industry average. The company’s stocks will gain volume in the near future, and the revenue is predicted to increase by many folds as the company is planning to launch Coca-Cola Life in other markets as well. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) has also sealed a deal with Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR), making its future even more secure.