The main indicators of Wall Street in Tuesday’s trading continue in deep red, as the pounding of Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities by Russian forces continues, despite the call of the Ukrainian president to stop the bombing to start talks.
President Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia should stop bombing Ukrainian cities before substantive talks begin for a ceasefire. “It is necessary to at least stop bombing people, just stop bombing and then sit down at the negotiating table,” he said.
A Russian phalanx of military vehicles is heading to Kyiv, while invading forces continue to bomb Kharkov, Mariupol and other major cities. Meanwhile, foreign agencies say a second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia could take place tomorrow in the Brest region, on Poland’s border with Belarus, keeping hopes alive for a ceasefire agreement.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine calls into question the Federal Reserve’s plans to end the stimulus measures it launched in the midst of the pandemic and then to tighten its policy to control inflation that has soared to a 40-year high.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify in Congress on Wednesday and Thursday. In a previous speech on the outlook for the economy and monetary policy, the central banker said the Fed was preparing to change its policy to tackle inflation. However, since then the international environment has changed dramatically with tensions between the West and Russia soaring to unprecedented levels, while at the same time, inflationary pressures from the energy price rally have intensified further. In this context, the Fed should move with particular caution to tackle inflation, while not derailing the economic recovery.
Indicators – Statistics
On the board, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 658.77 points or -1.94% to 33,233.83 points, while the S&P 500 fell 69.74 points or -1.61% to 4,303.51 points. The technology Nasdaq loses 197.08 points or -1.44% to 13,553.69 points.
Of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average, only three are moving with a positive sign and 27 with a negative. The biggest increase is recorded by Chevron with gains of $ 3.58 or 2.49% at $ 147.58, followed by Home Depot at $ 318.72 with an increase of 0.92% and Walmart with gains of 0.60% at $ 135.97
The three stocks with the biggest losses are American Express (-6.53%), Boeing (-5.37%) and JPMorgan Chase (-4.84%).
At the end of the day, data released today by IHS Markit showed that the manufacturing PMI rose to 57.3 points in February from 55.5 points in January, marginally losing its initial estimate of 57.5 points.
“The US manufacturing industry recovered in February after the micron wave that nearly led to a production freeze in January,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at IHS Markit.
A different survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed that the country’s factory activity index rose to 58.6 points last month, from 57.6 points in January, which was the lowest level since November 2020.
Measurements above 50 indicate expansion of activity. Analysts’ average estimates in a Reuters poll put the index at 58.0 points.
Finally, construction spending jumped in January, according to data from the US Department of Commerce.
In particular, construction costs increased by 1.3% in January, while the data for December were revised upwards and showed an increase of 0.8% instead of the 0.2% previously announced. Analysts’ average estimates showed a small increase of 0.2% in January.
On an annual basis, construction costs jumped 8.2%.
Source: Capital
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