“Urgency and consensus is utmost priority at the moment,” said an EU diplomat, adding that at this stage it meant no move on SWIFT, because doing so would have such wide-ranging consequences, also in Europe
~ We know that cutting Russia off from SWIFT is the ‘nuclear option’ – appears some EU politicians want to keep hold of that card for now.
Western negotiators have been making positive noises about a deal being close.
A little cold shower from the Iranians.
SoE key measures include:
more to come
The major US indices are closing near session lows, and in the process is extending the losing streaks:
A look at the closing numbers shows:
Some of the big losers today included:
Within the Dow 30:
The pain to the downside continues especially for the NASDAQ stocks
The major European indices erased solid gains and are closing mostly lower on the day. At the highs, the
The provisional closes are now showing:
As European traders exit for the exit, the NZD remains the strongest of the major currencies but has given up some of their gains. The RBNZ the hiked rates by 25 basis points but it was a close call between 25 and 50 basis points.
See report from Newsweek HERE.
The Russian forces have surrounded Ukraine with new military presence in the near term. They are positioned to attack from the north, east and south.
The risk mood is faring better to start the day but we’ll see what Russia-Ukraine tensions have to offer in the session ahead.
For now, the West is slapping Russia with meager sanctions so that isn’t anything that markets should be too worried about. But Putin is still putting on a show and there’s still a threat that Russia could be more aggressive so there is still some degree of uncertainty in that regard.
I would say that this is just part of the playacting before it all fizzles down but we’ll see. Of course, tensions in the region will not be completely gone but at least the latest episode will reach a conclusion.
Major currencies are little changed in general but the kiwi is a notable gainer after a more hawkish RBNZ earlier today. That continues to set the aussie and kiwi apart from the rest of the bloc, as they have been largely resilient in recent weeks.
Looking ahead, there are a few releases to move things along but they shouldn’t distract from the risk mood being the key driver of trading sentiment at the moment.
0700 GMT – Germany March GfK consumer confidence
0745 GMT – France February business confidence
0900 GMT – Switzerland February Credit Suisse investor sentiment
1000 GMT – Eurozone January final CPI figures
1200 GMT – US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 18 February
That’s all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading! Stay safe out there.
Perhaps it’ll be just a little quieter in eastern Europe/western Russia today? Or perhaps not.
