The drop in Wall Street yesterday could've been so much worse. A late-day rally helped to salvage something towards the end but is it enough to stop the bleeding this week? The only comfort is that some reassurances from US president Trump on the war at least helped to prop up sentiment a little. But in a time of conflict, actions speak louder than words.For now, market players might cling on to hope. But the longer this drags on, the more anxious and worrying it will be. That especially if oil prices continue to pull higher in the weeks ahead. It's been quite a back and forth week in the oil market but overall, prices are still looking sharp in the grand scheme of things.And amid growing fears of central bank raising interest rates, that's also weighing on risk sentiment. And US stocks were beaten down badly at one point yesterday, only but for a late recovery. Still, the charts don't look pretty.The S&P 500 index closed below both its 100 (red line) and 200-day (blue line) moving averages for the first time since May last year. That's a notable break but dip buyers are still barely hanging on around the October and November lows last year closer to the 6,538-50 region. That now acts as the key line in the sand in terms of support level for the index.A firm break below that will open the floodgates in triggering further downside for US equities in general.The same applies for the Nasdaq amid a drop to its lowest since September last year at one point yesterday. Sellers are also trying to solidify a firm break below the 200-day moving average (blue line), also the first since May last year.For now, the November lows around the 22,000-43 region is still somewhat holding up. And like the S&P 500 index, a firmer break below this key line in the sand will spell much more trouble for tech shares moving forward.As one can see from the charts, we're on the verge of a potentially huge technical breakdown for US stocks. Dip buyers now have their backs against the wall in trying to defend the key levels noted above ahead of the weekend.Headline risk is everything at the moment and just be mindful that it won't take much to trigger more fear in markets. And even if there aren't any sudden outside risks, investors will still also gradually get more nervous the longer this war drags on. That is something to keep in mind.Besides the point in equities, keep an eye out for the likes of precious metals too. If you think the heavy selling at one point yesterday was bad, wait until we see stocks trigger stops on any further break lower from this point. That can cascade further to margin calls and trigger more volatile selling in the likes of gold and silver as market players need to front up the cash. This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.