LAST UPDATE: 21.56
Wall Street stock indexes show mixed signs, with investors’ eyes fixed on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began at dawn across the borders of the two countries, as well as from the territory of Belarus and many of them. to transfer funds to safe investment products.
The invasion comes at a time when markets are already under pressure from the highest inflation in the last 40 years in the US, after recovering from the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic.
On the dashboard, the industrial Dow Jones falls by 213.99 points or 0.65%, with the widest S&P 500 to gain 19.60 points or 0.46% and the technological Nasdaq to record gains of 266.08 points or 2.03%.
The S&P still remains on the correction ground, while the Nasdaq briefly moved into a bear market, ie a decline of more than 20% compared to its most recent all-time high, but later “turned” strongly positive.
Many Ukrainian cities have been hit by rockets since the morning, including in Kiev, and Russian troops have invaded parts of Ukraine from the north, south and east. Ukrainian airports have also been occupied. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his speech, spoke of a military operation to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” Ukraine, while stating that he has no intention of occupying parts of the country.
NATO is responding in the meantime with military reinforcement of its eastern wing, which borders Ukraine.
“Putin is the aggressor, Putin is responsible for the war,” said US President Joe Biden. ” Russia’s military capabilities and eventually make Russian President Vladimir Putin an “international outcast.”
“I impose new sanctions on Russia, which we have designed to have the greatest possible cost to Moscow and the lowest possible cost to the United States and its allies,” he said, referring to Russia’s brutal invasion in violation of any rule of international law in Ukraine.
“Any asset of five major Russian banks in the US is frozen today. We will cut almost 50% of Russia’s high-tech imports,” he said, adding that there would be very strict rules on what could be exported. in Russia from the USA. This, he said, would hit the country hard in the field of technology, including the aeronautics sector.
“Any asset of five major Russian banks in the US is frozen today. We will cut almost 50% of Russia’s high-tech imports,” he said, adding that there would be very strict rules on what could be exported. in Russia from the USA. This, he said, would hit the country hard in the field of technology, including the aeronautics sector.
Brent crude jumped 7.7% to $ 104.56 a barrel, exceeding $ 100 for the first time since 2014. US WTI crude is up 7.2%, just below $ 100 a barrel. barrel.
US government bond prices are rising, with the 10-year yield falling to 1.86% as investors seek investment shelters. Gold gained 3.2% to $ 1,970 an ounce in the same context.
European markets are also experiencing strong turmoil, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 falling 3.6% to a low this year.
“Confirmation of the worst-case scenario for a Russian invasion beyond the breakaway regions in the east is a shock to the stock and oil markets. notes Kathy Bostjancic, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. “In such a context of uncertainty and a negative turn in economic activity, the Fed is expected to raise interest rates by only 25 basis points, but the increase will take place,” he said.
Investors, after the middle of the session, appeared to “buy the dip” of big names in technology, with the shares of Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet and Microsoft moving upwards – “erasing” their previous losses during the day, while the Tesla recovered almost all of its losses.
“Investors should expect strong sanctions against Russia, which will slow growth and keep commodity prices under pressure,” said Dennis DeBusschere of 22V Research.
Of the 30 Dow Jones shares, 5 saw gains and 25 saw losses. Those of sales are led by those of Salesforce, Intel, Microsoft, while those of losses are led by JP Morgan Chase, Merck and Travelers Cos.
Macro
The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, slightly faster than originally estimated, as Americans increased their spending and businesses continued to build their inventories and invest in the midst of strong recovery after the catastrophic 2020.
Previous data had shown GDP growth of 6.9%. The revised measurement confirmed analysts’ estimates in a WSJ poll for 7% growth.
For 2021 overall, US GDP grew by 5.7%, showing the largest annual increase since 1984.
However, the resurgence of the pandemic at the end of 2021 due to the micron mutation hit economic activity, with growth slowing to less than 2% in the first quarter, according to analysts.
Unemployment benefits for US states fell last week as the labor market continued to recover from the shock of the pandemic.
In particular, the initial applications for unemployment benefits fell by 17,000 to 232,000 in the week ended February 19, according to the US Department of Labor. Analysts’ average estimates in a Bloomberg poll put the applications at 235,000.
Ongoing applications, meanwhile, fell to 1.48m for the week to 12 February.
Source: Capital
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
