Morning wrap (03.03.2022)

• US indices erased drop from the beginning of the session yesterday and finished higher. S&P 500 gained 1.86%, Dow Jones moved 1.79% higher and Nasdaq jumped 1.62%

• Indices from Asia gained as well. Nikkei added 0.7%, S&P/ASX 200 moved 0.5% higher and Kospi gained 1.6%. Indices from China traded slightly lower

• DAX futures point to a flat opening of the European cash session today

• Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. Russian army has taken control over Kherson, the first major city since the start of war

• According to Interfax, delegations from Russia and Ukraine will hold talks this morning

• Russia has sent notice to Finland and Sweden and urged them not to join NATO

• United States is reportedly considering whether to target India with sanctions after country didn't condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine and reports surfaced saying that India is working to bypass sanctions in trade with Russia

• The Russian central bank started charging 30% commission on FX purchases made by individuals. According to media reports, Russian central bank chief informed employees that it did not expect sanctions to be this severe

• Fitch and Moody's downgraded Russian sovereign debt to junk grade. FTSE Russell announced removal of all Russian companies from its indices

• Japan carmakers - Toyota, Honda and Mazda - will halt production at its factories in Russia. US tech company Oracle also suspended operations in the country and halted sales of all SAP services to Russia

• Australian building approvals plunged 27.9% MoM in January (exp. -3.3% MoM)

• Energy commodities continue to gain. WTI trades near $114.50 while Brent approaches $117

• Precious metals trade slightly higher. Gold tests $1,930 area

• AUD and CAD are the best performing major currencies while JPY and EUR lag the most

DE30 climbed back above 14,000 pts mark. However, upward move slowed later on and now the index seems to be struggling near the 50-hour moving average (green line). Source: xStation5