- European stocks plunged as Russia invades Ukraine
- US indices attempt to erase early losses
- US imposes new sanctions on Russia
- Commodities erase early gains
European indices finished today's session sharply lower after Russia invaded Ukraine and the attack seems to be more severe and widespread than initially expected. UK PM Johnson outlined new sanctions on Russia, like asset freezes on more than 100 entities and individuals, banning Aeroflot from its airspace, export controls, including some electronics, telecom and aerospace, full freeze on VTB Bank, registry of overseas property ownership. Option of excluding Russia from the SWIFT system is still on the table. The Dax was among the worst performing bourses, falling 3.96% to 14052, the lowest level since March 2021. CAC dropped 3.83%, the FTSE100 lost 3.88%. The banking sector had its worst day since the coronavirus pandemic started in 2020. Italian, Austrian and French banks are the world's most exposed to Russia.
Major Wall Street indexes plunged at the beginning of the session, however buyers regained some initiative later on. Nasdaq managed to recover from an over 2% drop and currently trades in the positive territory. Also better than expected GDP and weekly jobless claims figures supported market sentiment. Nevertheless, the geopolitical situation is still tense. NATO and its allies firmly condemned Russia's invasion, and, in an emergency meeting, the military alliance decided to deploy additional forces in the region. President Biden announced fresh sanctions against Moscow today, however again turned out to be less severe than expected, which pushed US indices higher.
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Open account Try demo Download mobile app Download mobile appCommodity prices rose sharply in the first part of the session following news regarding Russian invasion. Brent and WTI oil climbed above the psychological barrier of $ 100 per barrel due to uncertainty about global oil supplies. Russia, as the main supplier of energy, agricultural and metallurgy resources, has a strong influence on the economy of the Old Continent. Therefore impact of potential sanctions on oil or gas transfers raised many concerns among investors and pushed the prices higher. NATO states have signaled the possibility of diversifying suppliers and cutting off from Russian fuels, including release of US strategic reserves. There were also speculations that Saudi Arabia could potentially increase oil production. In addition, nuclear talks between the US and Iran are coming to an end which, if successful, could open the way to Iranian oil. Nevertheless, commodity prices erased all early gains as fresh sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and UK proved not to be as harsh as expected.
Gold jumped over 3% during today's session however buyers failed to break above $1975.00 level partially due to stronger dollar. Precious metal erased most of the early gains and is heading towards local support at $1907.77 which coincides with 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of the last upward wave. Source: xStation5
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