Moderate losses on Wall Street with a look at Ukraine

With key losses and far from their intra-conference lows, the key indicators of Wall Street ended Monday’s trading as investors continue to assess the development of the crisis in Ukraine in the hope that the dialogue will prevail and a major military conflict will be avoided.

Tensions in the region have risen as Russian forces continue military exercises near Belarus’ border with Ukraine despite repeated calls from the West for de-escalation. According to the Associated Press, Russia has gathered about 130,000 troops near the border with Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had suggested to President Vladimir Putin that Moscow continue to pursue diplomatic channels in order to secure security guarantees from the West rekindled hopes that the crisis was easing. The Russian president is said to have given his initial approval to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s responses to the West regarding the security guarantees requested by Moscow, according to the RIA news agency.

However, the statements of the President of Ukraine in a speech today that he was informed that Russia will attack this Wednesday brought back to the forefront the fears of a war in the region.

Indicators – Statistics

On the board, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 171.89 points or -0.49% and closed at 34,566.17 points, while the broader S&P 500 fell 16.97 points or -0.38% to 4,401.67 points. The technology Nasdaq closed virtually unchanged at 13,790.92 points.

Of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average, only eight closed with a positive sign and 22 with a negative. The biggest gain was recorded by Nike with gains of $ 1.41 or 1.01% at $ 141.59, followed by Walt Disney at $ 150.85 with gains of 0.92% and Coca-Cola at 60.68 USD with an increase of 0.65%.

The three stocks with the biggest losses were Walgreens Boots Alliance (-2.75%), IBM (-1.91%) and Chevron (-1.54%).

At the same time, concerns remain about the forthcoming rise in US interest rates and the impact this will have on economic growth.

In an interview with CNBC, the president of St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman James Bullard reiterated his call for interest rates to rise by 100 basis points by June by June, stressing that the central bank needs to reassure the public that it will defend its 2% inflation target. The latest data on inflation showed an annual jump of 7.5% in January, which is the highest level in the last 40 years or so.

Most analysts expect the Fed’s first rate hike at its next meeting in March to be 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points. previously expected.

Producer prices data for January will be released this week, as well as minutes from the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting, which are expected to monopolize investment interest.

Meanwhile, the fourth quarter results period is in full swing, with analysts expecting S&P 500 companies’ profits to rise 31% from the same period last year.