Global stock markets remain under pressure amid lingering uncertainty over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with investors watching for possible related risks.
Despite an announcement by Russia’s Defense Ministry that some military units that have completed their missions within the scope of exercises have begun returning to their bases, geopolitical risks remain in focus amid statements by the US and NATO to the contrary.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the Russian military buildup is continuing.
In the face of such statements, Russia has called on Western countries to “stop provoking hysteria.”
Meanwhile, the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s January meeting released Wednesday did not reveal a more hawkish picture than feared.
While the minutes underlined the importance of “maintaining flexibility,” the record had few new details on the size of the rate hike expected in March or on the Fed’s plans to decrease its bond holdings.
Following these developments, the risk perception in global markets turned negative, while the price Brent crude, which closed at $90.30 a barrel yesterday, is trading around 1.2% higher at $91.50.
On the European side, the news flow regarding the Russia-Ukraine crisis continued to be the main factor shaping stock markets, with possible increases in energy prices in case Western countries impose sanctions on Russia causing fluctuations in the sector’s shares.
While it was stated that pricing on the subject could be reshaped with an informal meeting of the leaders of the European Union countries on Russia which was scheduled to be held in Brussels today, on the monetary policy side, Martins Kazaks, a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), was among the council’s members who said it is quite possible that the ECB will increase interest rates this year.
On the Asian side, discussions on monetary policy in Japan, a decline in iron ore prices in China and the number of new types of coronavirus cases across the region came to the fore as the developments that shaped today’s pricing in the stock markets.
Meanwhile, Japan’s exports growth was much lower than the market forecast at 9.6% year-on-year in January, while its imports jumped 39.6% in the same period, bringing its trade deficit to an eight-year high.
Source: Anadolu Agency