Top Wall Street stocks rose on Friday amid moderate optimism about developments in the war in Ukraine, following a report by Russian President Vladimir Putin on some progress in Moscow’s talks with Kyiv.
However, on a weekly basis, all three indices are moving in the direction of losses of more than 1%. The Dow is heading for the fifth consecutive week with a negative sign, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are in the third.
In particular, during his meeting with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in the Kremlin, Putin said that “there are some positive changes, as our negotiators tell me,” adding that the talks continue “practically on a daily basis.” “.
The statement from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov was also encouraging for the investment climate. did not rule out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. As he said, however, “it must first be made certain that the two heads of state meet to have some result and not just to meet.”
However, developments on the battlefield in Ukraine does not show any kind of de-escalation. The Russian military has resumed its offensive efforts and since Friday morning has targeted new Ukrainian cities which it is bombing and trying to encircle. In fact, for the first time today, Russian forces targeted areas in western Ukraine around Lviv.
In the economic field, Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for US economic growth, citing the effects of higher oil prices and the conflict in Ukraine. Oil prices rose about 2% on Friday.
In addition, the United States, together with the Group of 7 and the European Union, will move today to removal of the “rather favored state” clause from Russia for invading Ukrainepaving the way for an increase in customs duties, according to sources familiar with the matter and US media reports.
US President Joe Biden is expected to announce today his intention to take this measure, the final decision on which will be taken in coordination with the G7 and the European Union, and, as far as Washington is concerned, it must take the approval by Congress.
At the same time, investors continue to weigh the new increase in US household spending in February, as prices continued to rise, leading the annual inflation to a new high of 40 years and hitting the pockets of Americans even harder. In particular, o consumer price index climbed to 7.9% in February compared to last year, marking the largest annual increase since 1982, surpassing 7.5% in January.
Economists estimate that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will increase the upward pressure on prices. Thus, while expecting that inflation will slow down later this year, they estimate that consumers will not soon see a sharpening of their spending, as price increases exceed the rate of wage growth, which is around 5%.
In the meantime, his performance 10-year US government bond falls by 1 basis point to 2%, while the dollar loses 0.2%.
Indicators – Statistics
On the dashboard, the industrial Dow adds about 250 points or 0.7% to 33,400, the widest S&P 500 gains 0.5% to 4,280 points and the technological Nasdaq increased by 0.2% to 13,150 points.
From 30 shares that make up the Dow, 25 are moving with a positive sign and 5 with a negative. Boeing and Dow Inc. are leading the way with gains of 2.8% and 2.65% respectively, while Cisco and Travelers Cos are also gaining more than 2%. The biggest losses are recorded by Apple with a drop of 0.9%.
The DocuSign title sinks 21% after the disappointing guidance announced by the electronic signature company.
Rivian Automotive is losing more than 3% after electric truck maker said it lost more than $ 2 billion in the fourth quarter amid ongoing disruptions in the supply chain.
Source: Capital
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