Asia stocks rally as fears of Russia invading Ukraine ease February 16, 2022 Asian stocks rose as fears of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine eased<br /> February 16, 2022 Creation time: 08:47 AM Last update: 08:47 AM Views: 25 TOKYO, Feb 16 (BNA): Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine dissipated this week after Moscow indicated it was bringing some troops back to its base from exercises, offering investors a measure of respite. The tension between world powers over the situation in Ukraine, which has developed into one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades, has been at the forefront of investors’ minds. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.9% in early regional trade on Wednesday, playing catch-up with gains in US and European stocks on Tuesday. “If we continue to see signs that diplomacy is working and the escalation of tensions de-escalates, I think we will see some kind of reverse trade,” said Kyle Rhoda, market analyst at IG in Melbourne. “It is likely that we will see stocks strengthened due to the fact that the implied volatility is a bit lower,” Rhoda said, adding that this is likely to affect oil and gold prices. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.9% to recover after two days of declines, while Australia’s S&P/ASX200 rose half%. Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.1% early in the session, and China’s CSI300 rose 0.4%. Investors’ attention was likely to turn to economic and monetary policy developments amid persistent speculation that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by a full 50 basis points in March. Among the events in focus were the release of the January Federal Policy Meeting Minutes later on Wednesday as well as January consumer inflation data from the UK and Canada. Data on Wednesday showed that factory and consumer price inflation in China came in less than expected in January, according to Reuters. IG’s Ruda said the tension surrounding the situation in Ukraine had “distracted attention from the fact that there remain significant risks and concerns about global monetary policy and how this could affect financial markets”. This could re-emerge as a driver of volatility as geopolitical tensions ease a bit. “ The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was at 2.0311% compared to its US close of 2.056% on Tuesday. The two-year yield, which rose as traders expected an increase in the Fed funds rate, was at 1.5569% compared to the US close at 1.5774%. Currency markets were fairly quiet, with the dollar index flat at 96.009 after retreating from a two-week high on Tuesday after Ukraine’s geopolitical risk premium exited the market. “Expectations for a strong Fed rally cycle should keep DXY in place,” Westpac analysts said in a note. The yen was traded at 115.67 per dollar. US crude fell slightly at $91.98 a barrel, after retreating from a seven-year high hit on Monday. Brent crude fell 0.1 percent to $93.16 a barrel. Gold was a little lower. Spot gold was trading at $1,850.54 an ounce. HF Source link Related READ MORE Bahrain weather forecast
February 16, 2022 Creation time: 08:47 AM Last update: 08:47 AM Views: 25 TOKYO, Feb 16 (BNA): Asian stocks rose on Wednesday as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine dissipated this week after Moscow indicated it was bringing some troops back to its base from exercises, offering investors a measure of respite. The tension between world powers over the situation in Ukraine, which has developed into one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades, has been at the forefront of investors’ minds. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.9% in early regional trade on Wednesday, playing catch-up with gains in US and European stocks on Tuesday. “If we continue to see signs that diplomacy is working and the escalation of tensions de-escalates, I think we will see some kind of reverse trade,” said Kyle Rhoda, market analyst at IG in Melbourne. “It is likely that we will see stocks strengthened due to the fact that the implied volatility is a bit lower,” Rhoda said, adding that this is likely to affect oil and gold prices. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.9% to recover after two days of declines, while Australia’s S&P/ASX200 rose half%. Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.1% early in the session, and China’s CSI300 rose 0.4%. Investors’ attention was likely to turn to economic and monetary policy developments amid persistent speculation that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by a full 50 basis points in March. Among the events in focus were the release of the January Federal Policy Meeting Minutes later on Wednesday as well as January consumer inflation data from the UK and Canada. Data on Wednesday showed that factory and consumer price inflation in China came in less than expected in January, according to Reuters. IG’s Ruda said the tension surrounding the situation in Ukraine had “distracted attention from the fact that there remain significant risks and concerns about global monetary policy and how this could affect financial markets”. This could re-emerge as a driver of volatility as geopolitical tensions ease a bit. “ The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury was at 2.0311% compared to its US close of 2.056% on Tuesday. The two-year yield, which rose as traders expected an increase in the Fed funds rate, was at 1.5569% compared to the US close at 1.5774%. Currency markets were fairly quiet, with the dollar index flat at 96.009 after retreating from a two-week high on Tuesday after Ukraine’s geopolitical risk premium exited the market. “Expectations for a strong Fed rally cycle should keep DXY in place,” Westpac analysts said in a note. The yen was traded at 115.67 per dollar. US crude fell slightly at $91.98 a barrel, after retreating from a seven-year high hit on Monday. Brent crude fell 0.1 percent to $93.16 a barrel. Gold was a little lower. Spot gold was trading at $1,850.54 an ounce. HF
