Geopolitical tension has kept the European markets in the red

European stock markets closed lower on Thursday – for the second consecutive session – erasing gains in the first trading session, after the table tennis between the US and Russia regarding a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine maintained a climate of intense uncertainty in the markets.

In particular, US President Joe Biden today reiterated his warning that the threat of Russian invasion of Ukraine is “very high”saying he “expects it to happen in the coming days”.

Speaking to reporters, the American president noted that “every indication we have is that they are preparing to enter Ukraine”, as reported by Reuters.

Asked how high the threat of a Russian invasion is at the moment, Biden replied “it is very high”, adding that “I have a feeling it will happen in the coming days”.

He also said that Russia had not withdrawn its forces from the Ukrainian border and that the United States had reason to believe that Moscow was conducting covert operations to justify an invasion of Ukraine.

Shortly before Biden’s statements, a senior State Department official said the United States had received Russia’s response to the security proposals sent by the US, but has not yet been notified by the US President.

For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned from the UN Security Council that the Russian armed forces were preparing intensively for an attack on Ukraine “within days”, adding that Russia plans to create a pretext for an attack on its neighboring country that would involve an alleged or actual chemical weapons attack.

Russia formally informed the United States on Thursday that it would be forced to respond, using even “military technical means”if Washington does not negotiate legally binding security guarantees for Moscow, as reported by Reuters.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Versinin also blamed Ukraine in a speech to the UN Security Council. that it does not implement the Minsk agreements2015, without extending to Western warnings of an impending Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory, which he described as a “guess”.

Furthermore, the Kremlin launched a counterattack against Joe Bidenarguing that the US president’s report on a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the “coming days” was exacerbating the situation, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov telling reporters that such a report was “fueling tensions”.

Investors are also reacting to the latest minutes of the US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting announced yesterday, which showed that officials are preparing for a more aggressive tightening of their policy if they find that inflation shows no signs of slowing down after the recent 40 rallies. years.

In this climate, the pan-European index Stoxx 600 fell 0.69% to 464.55 points, with utilities adding 0.6%, while the travel and leisure sector slipped 1.7% and was the big loser of the session.

In the individual dashboard, the German DAX recorded losses of 0.67% to 15,267.63 points, the French CAC 40 lost 0.26% to 6,946.81 points, while the British FTSE 100 fell 0.87% to 7,537.37 points.

In the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB is down 1.11% at 26,669.27 points, while the Spanish IBEX 35 lost 0.76% 8,671.10 points.

In the individual sharesCommerzbank gained 4% after returning to earnings in the last quarter of 2021, and outlined its plans for the resumption of dividend payments for 2022, in a sign that it is turning in its transformation.

Dutch engineering firm Arcadis and French luxury goods company Kering gained 10% and 6.6%, respectively, after strong fourth-quarter earnings reports.

The French luxury goods group Kering showed sales and profits for 2021 that rose well above the pre-pandemic level, with the two-quarter results for the main Gucci brand being particularly encouraging.

At the bottom of the European blue chip index, the Swedish software company Sinch plunged more than 21%, after the announcement of its results for the fourth quarter.