Daily summary: Global stocks drop as Russian bloody offensive shakes markets

8:20 PM 4 March 2022
  • European stocks finish lower amid worries over Ukraine
  • Wall Street retreats despite upbeat NFP report 
  • Zelensky asks for more fighter jets after NATO rejected idea of no-fly zone over Ukraine

European indices took a hit today, with the DAX ending at an over 14-month low as Russian army continues its offense, attacking civilian objects on their way while Putin refuses to open humanitarian corridor, despite yesterday agreements. Russian troops attacked Zaphorozia Power Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and caused a fire at the site. President Zelensky called on international community to act in the wake of nuclear terrorism. He also said if the West remains reluctant to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine, it should at least provide Kyiv with fighter jets as massive Russian convoy is approaching the city. Meanwhile the bloc’s foreign ministers discussed more sanctions in Brussels. Ireland’s Foreign Minister said a new round of sanctions could affect even more Russian banks. On the data front, January retail sales in the Eurozone turned out ot be weaker than expected. 

Major Wall Street indices are also trading lower on Friday. Dow Jones fell 0.90% while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.0% and 1.6%, respectively as war concerns overshadowed a strong NFP report. The American economy added 678K jobs in February, the most in seven months, easily beating analysts’ expectations of 400K.

Upbeat moods prevail today in commodity markets amid a slightly stronger dollar. US 10-year Treasury fell to1.73% while gold surged to $1964 level. Silver jumped to $25.60, and WTI oil erased yesterday losses and trades at $112.70 per barrel as Russia's recent military actions stoked fears of further supply disruptions. Major cryptocurrencies fell sharply during today's session. Bitcoin price dropped 4.70% to $40,500 while Ethereum price broke below $2700 level.

GBPUSD pair plunged over 1.0% below the support zone around 1.3350 which is marked with previous price reactions. Currently the pair is approaching support at 1.3185 where lows from December 2021  are located. Source: xStation5

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