Wall closed in the day low, Nasdaq ‘dip’ 2.2% – Heavy losses in the week

The main indicators of Wall Street closed on Friday, after the initially positive reaction of the American stock market to the statement of Vladimir Putin on some progress in the Moscow-Kiev talks reversed Joe Biden’s report that the US’s Western allies “are showing restraint in an effort to prevent the outbreak of World War III.”

Thus, the losses in the week widened for all three indices, with the Dow recording the 5th consecutive week with a negative sign, in its worst series in about three years. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed in the “red” for a third 5-day series.

The key statement for the meeting was made in the context of announcements by the US President, who called on the US to revoke the trade regime of the “rather favored state” of Russia, which 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.

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.

Regarding the developments in Ukraine, which remains the focus of investment interest, Vladimir Putin said – during the meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko – that “there are some positive changes, as our negotiators tell me,” adding that the conversations 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 did not confirm any 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 attack in 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 continued 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 fell by about 1 basis point to 2%. The dollar strengthened by 0.5%, expanding its weekly profits by 0.4%.

Indicators – Statistics

On the dashboard, the industrial Dow fell 229 points or 0.69% to 32,944, the widest S&P 500 lost 1.3% to 4,204.31 points and the technological Nasdaq slipped 2.18% to 12,843.81 points.

In weekly basis all three indices closed with significant losses. The Dow lost 2%, the S&P 500 fell 2.9% and the Nasdaq 3.5%.

From 30 shares that make up the Dow, 8 closed with a positive sign and 22 with a negative. McDonald’s and Caterpillar led the way with gains of 2.19% and 1.44% respectively. The biggest losses were recorded by Nike (-2.7%), Apple (-2.23%) and JPMorgan (-2.25%).

DocuSign’s title sank 20.1% following disappointing guidance from the signature company.

Rivian Automotive lost 7.56% 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.