Following reports on progress in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, European stock exchanges, as well as futures contracts linked to the leading US stock indexes, made a noticeable appearance on Friday afternoon.
Wall Street opened higher, but after the trading day, the mood deteriorated. This is how the US stock exchanges closed on the last trading day of the week:
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is made up of 30 handpicked, supposedly important stocks, fell 0.69 percent.
- The S&P 500 collective index, which consists of 500 of the largest listed companies in the United States, fell 1.3 percent
- The Nasdaq Composite Index, which is dominated by technology companies, fell 2.18 percent
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for the fifth consecutive week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices have fallen for three consecutive weeks. The oil price is heading towards a 3 percent rise after a turbulent week with a number of sanctions targeting Russian oil exports.
import ban
President Joe Biden announced, Friday, that the United States is denying Russia its status as a preferred trading partner. At the same time, a ban was announced for the import of many Russian goods, including vodka, diamonds and seafood.
The abolition of Russia’s status as a preferred trading partner allows the imposition of tariffs on goods imported from Russia.
The European Union and the G7 countries are expected to do the same.
Russia ranked 26th among the largest trading partners of the United States in 2019, according to CNBC. Russia’s exports to the United States in 2019 amounted to $29 billion, mostly oil and gas products. The United States earlier this week banned the import of Russian oil, gas and other energy sources.
‘positive progress’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that there had been “positive progress” in talks between Russia and Ukraine.
– There is positive progress in the talks. Putin told his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting in Moscow that these are the notes I received from our negotiators.
“Negotiations are now taking place almost daily,” Putin added.
The two presidents will meet on Friday to discuss developments in Ukraine. Belarus has sided with Russia since the outbreak of war on February 24.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations have met three times in Belarus to try to resolve the conflict. When the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey on Thursday, no ceasefire agreement was reached, but they agreed that talks should continue in Belarus.
However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded by saying there had been “little progress” in the negotiations, Bloomberg News wrote Friday night.
The price of oil continues to fluctuate, and is trading Friday night at $111.4 a barrel, an increase of 2 percent from Thursday’s closing price.
High prices to the sky
February figures came Thursday on inflation in the United States, the world’s most important economy. The result showed a price increase of 7.9 percent from the same month last year, the highest price increase since January 1982, but also somewhat in line with previous estimates. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CNBC that she expects higher prices to be a reality in the US for at least another year.
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) on Thursday completed its supportive purchases of securities, the so-called quantitative easing. The Federal Reserve has to varying degrees buying government bonds and mortgage securities since the 2008 financial crisis with the aim of helping the economy, contributing to higher asset prices and less volatility in the markets. During the pandemic alone, the Fed bought thousands of billions of dollars worth of securities.
The Fed will hold an interest rate meeting on 15-16. March, when it is expected to raise interest rates to 0.25 percent from the current zero level. After that, interest rate increases are expected to come successively in 2022 and 2023 to beat accelerating inflation. The central bank’s stated goal is to keep inflation at 2 percent over time. (Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and/or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases using a link that leads directly to our pages. All or part of the Content may not be copied or otherwise used with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional terms look here.
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