Wall: ‘Biden Reaction’ Calms’ Reaction to ‘Western Restraint’ – Nasdaq At -1%

LAST UPDATE: 20.30

The positive reaction of the Wall “faded” after the report of Joe Biden that the western allies of the USA “show restraint in an attempt to avoid the start of the Third World War”.

This characteristic statement was made in the context of announcements of the American president, who called on the USA to revoke the trade regime of the “rather favored state” of Russiawhich will degrade Russia as a trading partner and pave the way for new customs duties for Moscow due to its invasion of Ukraine.

Biden also announced that the United States is banning imports of Russian alcohol, seafood and diamonds. His disgust was typical, according to which the western allies of the USA “show restraint in an attempt to avoid the start of the Third World War”.

Thus, the restrained optimism about the developments regarding the war in Ukraine, after the report of the Russian President Vladimir Putin for some progress in the Moscow talks with Kyiv, which was reflected intra-conference on the positive signs of the Dow and S&P 500, gave way to caution with the industrial index limiting its profits and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 entering negative territory.

To cancel permanent normal trade relations with Russia, Biden will need congressional approval, but is not expected to meet with serious opposition. It is noted that the G7 and the European Union are expected to make a similar move with the USA, while Canada opened the way last week.

The investment climate was further boosted by Vladimir Putin’s statement – during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko – that “there are some positive changes, as our negotiators tell me,” adding that talks continue “practically on a daily basis.” “.

The report by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov was also encouraging. did not rule out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

However, developments on the battlefield in Ukraine as well as at the diplomatic level do not show any kind of de-escalation. Particularly, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister denied the Russian president’s statement referring to “zero progress”. Dmitry Kuleba said talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday had yielded no progress. “I find it difficult to understand what kind of progress President Putin is referring to,” he told Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s State Strategic Communications Center says Belarus does not rule out invasion of Ukraine even on Friday night. “According to preliminary data, Belarusian troops may be lured into an invasion on March 11,” the center said in a statement, according to Reuters.

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.

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 declines by 1 basis point to 2%. The dollar loses 0.4%, however in the week it strengthens by 0.3%.

Indicators – Statistics

On the dashboard, the industrial Dow adds about 0.3% to 33,260 points, the widest S&P 500 loses 0.15% to 4,250 points and the technological Nasdaq declines by 0.9% to 13,010 points.

In weekly basis all three indices are moving in a loss trajectory of more than 1%. The Dow is heading for the fifth consecutive week with a negative sign, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in the third consecutive negative 5-day.

From 30 shares that make up the Dow, 22 move with a positive sign and 8 with a negative. McDonald’s and Caterpillar led the way with gains of 2.76% and 2.5% respectively, followed by Dow Inc (+ 1.76%) and Travelers Cos (+ 1.6%). The biggest losses are recorded by JPMorgan (-2.02%), Nike (-1.23%) and Apple (-1.17%).

The DocuSign title is “sinking” by 22% after the disappointing guidance announced by the electronic signature company.

Rivian Automotive is losing more than 7% after electric truck maker said it lost more than $ 2 billion in the fourth quarter amid ongoing disruptions in the supply chain.

Macro

Consumer confidence in the US plunged in March, with the index falling to a 11-year low as the inflation rally affected households’ living standards.

In particular, the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index fell to 59.7 points based on the initial measurement for March, from the final measurement in February to 62.8 points.

It is noted that the average estimates of analysts in a Wall Street poll put the index at 62.0 points.