The New York square seemed to rebound at the beginning of the month, but the spirits died down with the escalation of tensions in Eastern Europe that led on Thursday the 24th to the order of military intervention in Ukraine by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Some analysts pointed out that the market then followed a “sell the rumor, buy the news” strategy that led to a surprising turnaround in the stock market, bouncing from the worst losses of the year to the best session recorded since the end of 2020.
However, the last few days have been dominated by volatility as the United States and its Western allies imposed harsh economic sanctions on Moscow, and negotiations that have not achieved a truce have been in focus on the last day.
Strong rises in energy and raw materials
The news of the war in Ukraine has added new concerns on Wall Street due to the consequent rise in the price of raw materials and fuel, precisely when inflation rises globally and in the US it does so at a rate not seen in almost 40 years. .
Most sectors fell in February, especially communications (almost 5%), non-essential goods (3%) and industrials (-2.7%), but after the Western economic punishment of Russia, they have suffered also the financial, close to 4%.
In contrast, the energy sector has appreciated almost 9% in parallel with the rise in the price of crude oil, with notable gains for oil companies such as Devon Energy (17%) and Occidental Petroleum (16%), and more meager for the giants Exxon Mobil (3%) and Chevron (9%).
In the oil market, which was already very tight due to growing global demand before the conflict broke out in Eastern Europe, fears of a reduction in the supply of Russian fuels have raised a barrel of Brent to $100, 99 and the Texas one at $95.72.
The rise in the stock market has also been notable, coinciding with the shipment of weapons from NATO countries to Ukraine, from specialized defense manufacturers Lockheed Martin (up 11% accumulated), Raytheon (13%) or Northrop Grumman (18 %).
In their flight to assets considered safe, investors have flocked to public debt and curbed the rise in Treasury bond yields associated with the imminent rises in interest rates anticipated by the Federal Reserve. 10-year titles stand at 1.83%.
Precious metals have also soared, with gold exceeding $1,900 an ounce, while palladium, of which Russia and Ukraine are major suppliers and used to make semiconductors, is close to $2,500.
Source: Ambito
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