London, Wednesday, 16 February 2022
US Markets Summary
On Wednesday, US stocks finished mixed, with the Dow down 53 points after losing as much as 300 earlier in the session, the Nasdaq down 0.1 percent, and the S&P 500 crossing into positive territory after the Fed meeting minutes suggested the Fed would not be more aggressive than the market had already priced in.
According to the FOMC minutes, the Fed is prepared to hike rates and shrink the balance sheet as early as March.
On the statistics front, retail sales rose 3.8 percent month over month in January, rebounding from a downwardly revised 2.5 percent loss in December and much exceeding market expectations of a 2% increase, supporting the Fed's stance.
Markets were kept in check, however, by geopolitical worries. In the most recent development, NATO officials accused Russia of massing soldiers along the Ukrainian border, a day after Moscow claimed to have evacuated some troops.
European Markets Summary
On Wednesday's trading session, European equity markets reversed most of their gains to finish mixed, with Germany's DAX, France's CAC, and London's FTSE 100 edging lower, while Italy's FTSE MIB and Spain's IBEX 35 finished above the flatline, as tensions with Russia remain high after NATO said Russia appears to be continuing its military build-up.
Gains in oil and gas equities were countered by losses in technical firms, highlighted by a more than 10% slump in Swedish telecoms behemoth Ericsson after an internal inquiry revealed major compliance violations at its Iraq operations.
Heineken, on the other hand, announced solid results for 2021 but warned that expenses will continue to climb.
Ahold Delhaize reported a net profit increase in 2021, Air Liquide reported a 'outstanding result,' and MTU Aero Engines confirmed its 2022 guidance.
Traders were particularly cautious ahead of the FOMC minutes later in the afternoon, which could provide more information on the Fed's rate-hiking plans.
U.S. Stock Market Indexes as at 4:03 p.m. ET
S&P 500: +3.95 (+0.09%) to 4,475.02
Nasdaq: -15.66 (-0.11%) to 14,124.09
Dow Jones: -54.57 (-0.16%) to 34,934.27
European Stock Market Indexes
STOXX Europe 600: rose 0.21 points, or 0.04%, to close at 467.77 points.
FTSE 100 in London: down by 5 points, or 0.07%.
DAX 30 in Germany: fell by 0.28%, or 42 points, to 15,370 points.
CAC 40 in France: down 0.21%, almost 15 points, to 6,964.
FTSE MIB 30 in Italy: almost unchanged at 26,969
IBEX 35 in Spain: rose 19 points, or 0.22%, to 8,737 points.
Other markets
Ten-year U.S. Treasury note: +0.2 bps to yield 2.0470% as at 4:03 p.m. ET
Dollar index: -0.17-0.18% at 95.82 as on Feb 16, 2022 at 4:42 p.m. EST
VIX volatility index: −1.41 (5.49%) at 24.29
Oil prices
Brent crude: -2.89 or -3.05% at $91.94 per barrel as on Feb 16, 2022 at 9:47 p.m. GMT
West Texas Intermediate: -1.33 or -1.44% at $90.68 per barrel as on Feb 16, 2022 at 4:49 p.m. EST
Precious metals
Gold: +15.40 or +0.83% $1,869.50 an ounce as on Feb 16, 17:03 NY Time
Silver +0.24 or +1.02% at $23.58 an ounce as on Feb 16, 17:03 NY Time
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin: -392.50 (0.88%) at $44,053.00 as of 16 Feb, 22:04 UTC
Ethereum: −45.98 (1.45%) at $3,136.00 as on 16 Feb, 22:04 UTC
(Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)
