US Futures Rise as Ukraine Escalation Fears Recede: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US futures rose as panic subsided that a rocket which struck inside the Polish border came from Russia and marked an escalation in the Ukrainian war.

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Contracts on the S&P 500 erased declines to trade 0.2% higher, and those on the Nasdaq 100 gained by a similar magnitude. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.4% after rising for four straight sessions.

The euro gained, reversing earlier losses, after US President Joe Biden said the missile was unlikely to have been fired by Russia. The yen weakened as haven demand waned.

Read more: Panic Eases Over Poland Strike as Allies Query Rocket’s Origin

The Associated Press cited unnamed US officials as saying initial findings pointed to the projectile being fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian one.

“It soon became apparent that this was highly unlikely to be a direct attack, and the overnight comments suggest a rapid deescalation,” according to Deutsche Bank AG strategists including Jim Reid in a morning note. “As such markets can go back to focusing on the positives, which was given further momentum by some decent corporate news.”

The Polish zloty trimmed its losses against the dollar while a gauge of the greenback traded within a broad range through the day, underscoring investor uncertainty.

Key events this week:

  • US business inventories, cross-border investment, retail sales, industrial production, Wednesday

  • Fed’s John Williams, Lael Brainard and SEC Chair Gary Gensler speak, Wednesday

  • ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks, Wednesday

  • Eurozone CPI, Thursday

  • US housing starts, initial jobless claims, Thursday

  • Fed’s Neel Kashkari, Loretta Mester speak, Thursday

  • US Conference Board leading index, existing home sales, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% as of 8:35 a.m. London time

  • Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.2%

  • Futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%

  • Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%

  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4%

  • The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4%

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

  • The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0393

  • The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 139.62 per dollar

  • The offshore yuan fell 0.6% to 7.0874 per dollar

  • The British pound was little changed at $1.1861

Cryptocurrencies

  • Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $16,736.6

  • Ether fell 0.6% to $1,237.94

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 3.81%

  • Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.12%

  • Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.31%

Commodities

  • Brent crude was little changed

  • Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,776.38 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asian-stocks-signal-caution-rocky-230218130.html