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March 3, 2022

Stocks plunge as Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Tuesday to mark a bleak first day of March on Wall Street as investors weighed intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine and the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow.

[Click here to read what’s moving markets heading into Wednesday, March 3]

The S&P 500 tumbled 1.55{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to 4,306.19, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 600 points, or 1.77{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}, to 33,293.96, marking its worst day since Feb. 17. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.59{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to 13,532.46. Losses also hit the 10-year U.S. Treasury index, which slid to 1.7{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}. The declines build on the Dow and S&P 500’s worst start to year since 2020. The Nasdaq has also recorded its worst January and February since 2009.

Financials led losses on Tuesday, with the XLF experiencing its biggest losses since June 2020, down 3.66{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.

Meanwhile, WTI crude oil spiked as much as 10{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to top $105 per barrel, marking its highest price since 2014 amid worries around a disruption in the energy sector.

As traders watch the war escalate overseas, in the U.S., they revert their attention back to the Federal Reserve and its plan to lift interest rates as soon as this month.

The worsening crisis in Ukraine has raised bets geopolitical uncertainty could knock the Federal Reserve off course for an aggressive first bump in interest rates. Investors have began pricing in a zero chance of a 50 basis point rate hike in March and minuscule chance of no increase at all.

Sky-high inflation prints month-over-month have previously elevated concerns among market participants that central bank officials will raise short-term borrowing costs more aggressively than expected to mitigate increasing prices, even stoking the possibility of a double interest rate hike of 50 basis points mid-March. But with ambiguity over how the Russia-Ukraine turmoil will pan out and potential economic disruptions, Fed watchers now anticipate the central bank may tread lightly on its rate hike.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver a monetary policy update before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and appear in front of Senate Banking Committee members Thursday in meetings that could offer hints on the Fed’s position ahead of its March 16 policy-setting meeting.

“Given the current conflict in the Ukraine, there remains considerable near term uncertainty with central bank intentions,” LPL Financial strategists Lawrence Gillum and Ryan Detrick said in a note, adding that upward pressure on the prices of oil and other commodities and sanctions against Russia could result in broader economic repercussions. “As such, inflationary pressures may remain high particularly as it relates to gas prices.”

Still, LPL has priced in a first hike of 25 basis points this month — for now.

Russia’s economy has been in the limelight this week after a ramp up on penalties by the U.S. and European allies for its invasion of Ukraine rocked the country’s financial system and sent the ruble tumbling 30{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} on Monday. A trove of multinational companies severing business dealings with the country also mounted to the growing economic pressure on Moscow.

Measures by the U.S. and Europe, including a move to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment network and sanctions on the Central Bank of Russia, have already dealt a harder-than-expected blow to the country’s economy, testing a decades-long effort by President Vladimir Putin to make the system sanction-proof.

The U.S., European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, U.K. and Canada set forth a joint statement Saturday booting select Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, a network that works to facilitate trillions of dollars in global transactions.

On Monday, the U.S. also barred Americans from conducting business with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federations and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Western financial institutions are expected to follow suit, with HSBC curbing its dealings with a docket of Russian banks including the second-largest, VTB.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis “is going to create enormous pain and hurt to the Russian economy,” Virginia Sen. Mark Warner told Yahoo Finance Live on Monday. “This is a much bigger economic hit than Putin anticipated.”

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4:00 p.m. ET: All three major benchmarks plunge to mark turbulent first day of March

Here were the main moves at Tuesday’s close:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): -67.75 (-1.55{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 4,306.19
Dow (^DJI): -598.64 (-1.77{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 33,293.96
Nasdaq (^IXIC): -218.94 (-1.59{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 13,532.46
Crude (CL=F): +$8.69 (+9.08{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $104.41 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$47.10 (+2.48{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,947.80 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -13.2 bps to yield 1.7070{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

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12:05 p.m. ET: Stocks plunge as Russia-Ukraine conflict rages

Here were the main moves in markets during midday trading

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): -72.70 points (-1.66{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 4,301.24
Dow futures (YM=F): -696.50 points (-2.06{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 33,196.10
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): -201.44 points (-1.44{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 13,549.96
Crude (CL=F): +$10.54 (+11.01{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1106.26 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$34.50 (+1.82{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,935.20 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -14.44 bps to yield 1.695{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

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11:25 a.m. ET: Construction jumps during January despite higher costs

U.S. construction spending jumped in January amid strong outlays on single-family homebuilding and private nonresidential structures.

The Commerce Department reported a 1.3{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} increase in construction spending and an upward revision on December data that reflected construction outlays rose 0.8{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} instead of the 0.2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} initially reported.

Bloomberg consensus data showed economists were anticipating a 0.1{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} uptake in spending.

Homebuilding remains under pressure from higher costs on building materials despite the surge in January. The National Association of Homebuilders said last month that building material production snafus were inflating construction prices and delaying projects.

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10:25 a.m. ET: US manufacturing activity regains traction

Manufacturing activity in the U.S. picked up more than expected during the month of February as COVID-19 infections fell. Hiring at factories, however, slowed, worsening supply chain disruptions and placing upward pressure on input prices.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM)’s latest print on its index of national factory activity rose to a reading of 58.6 last month from 57.6 in January, which marked the lowest figure since November 2020.

A reading above 50 points to an expansion in manufacturing, which accounts for 11.9{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of the U.S. economy. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated a print of 58.0.

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10:00 a.m. ET: Kohls rises on better-than-expected outlook

Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) missed analyst estimates for the fourth quarter but reported an upbeat revenue outlook for 2022 and said it will “build its momentum” this year.

The company saw a 13{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} slip in fourth-quarter net income to $299 million for the quarter ended Jan. 29, 2022, down from $343 million in the same period a year ago.

While down on a quarterly basis, net annual income jumped to $938 million, compared to a loss of $163 million in the 2020 due to the pandemic. Earnings per share reached a record high of $7.33 in 2021.

Meanwhile, the company said it was engaging with unsolicited bidders. Kohls has been under pressure from activist investors including Macellum Advisors and Engine Capital to raise its shareholder value and improve financials, and also urged to consider spinning the company off into separate online and brick-and-mortar businesses, calls the retailer rejected.

Shares of Kohls were up 4.48{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to $58.11 a piece as of 9:59 a.m. ET.

SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 24: The Kohl’s logo is displayed on the exterior of a Kohl’s store on January 24, 2022 in San Rafael, California. Retailer Kohl’s has received an unsolicited $9 billion takeover offer from activist investor Starboard Value through Acacia Research Corp. The offer is for $64 per share compared to the last closing price of $46.84 per share on Friday. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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9:47 a.m. ET: Target surges at start of trading after earnings beat

Shares of Target (TGT) jumped 14{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} at open after the company reported a better-than expected outlook for its annual adjusted earnings per share.

The retailer smashed analysts’ profit forecasts for the fourth quarter as consumers sought out deals on apparel and food amid rising inflation.

“The quarter was driven by traffic. So that means consumers voted with their with their feet and their clicks and picked Target more often. So that’s an incredibly healthy sign for for our business,” Target CFO Michael Fiddelke said on Yahoo Finance Live.

Target was up 11.42{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to trade at $222.59 per share as of 9:47 a.m. ET.

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9:30 a.m. ET: US stocks hold steady as investors continue to monitor Russia, Ukraine

Here’s how markets opened for Tuesday’s trading session:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): -11.34 points (-0.26{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 4,362.60
Dow futures (YM=F): -169.64 points (-0.50{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 33,722.96
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): -46.40 points (-0.34{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 13,705.00
Crude (CL=F): +$5.39 (+5.63{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $101.11 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$19.50 (+1.03{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,920.20 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -6.0 bps to yield 1.779{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

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7:00 a.m. ET: Futures decline as Russia’s attack on Ukraine enters sixth day

Here’s how contracts on Wall Street’s main benchmarks fared ahead of Tuesday’s open:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): -38.00 points (-0.87{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 4,330.00
Dow futures (YM=F): -258.00 points (-0.76{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 33,582.00
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): -132.25 points (-0.93{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 14,095.75
Crude (CL=F): +$3.75 (+3.92{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $99.47 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$22.70 (+1.19{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,923.40 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): 0.00 bps to yield 1.839{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

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6:05 p.m. ET Monday: Stock futures hold steady as investors monitor Russia-Ukraine crisis

Here were the main moves in markets ahead of overnight trading Monday:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): +3.75 points (+0.09{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 4,371.75
Dow futures (YM=F): +20.00 points (+0.06{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}), to 33,860.00
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): -9.50 points (-0.07{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 14,218.50
Crude (CL=F): +$0.16 (+0.17{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $95.88 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$8.80 (+0.46{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,909.50 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -14.7 bps to yield 1.822{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki listens as Deputy National Security Advisor for international economics Daleep Singh gives an update on sanctions during a daily press briefing on the U.S. response after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Leah Millis

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Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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February 27, 2022

US sanctions on Russia affect defence, tech, finance | Russia-Ukraine crisis News

The White Property unveiled measures to isolate Russia from the world wide money, tech and trade process.

The United States said that it is imposing ‘severe’ economic sanctions on Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine, aimed at crippling the Russian economic system, its monetary establishments and its entry to technological innovation.

US President Joe Biden at the White Home Thursday stated: ” Putin chose this war. And now he and his place will bear the penalties.”

Russia’s inventory marketplace tumbled to its least expensive stage in four and a 50 {1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} decades on Thursday, and its currency, the rouble, arrived at a document reduced vs . the buck.

Now, the even stricter actions intention to squeeze Russia’s financial state, stifle its progress, maximize borrowing costs, elevate inflation and intensify cash outflows.

The Biden administration stated in a statement Thursday afternoon that sanctions goal all 10 of Russia’s greatest economical establishments and impose export handle measures that will more than halve Russia’s higher-tech imports.

The moves consist of cutting off Russia’s biggest financial institution from the US monetary program and imposing sanctions on Russia’s 2nd-largest financial institution, and freezing any of its property touching the US monetary program.

The sanctions on Russia’s best economical entities include the imposition of “full blocking and correspondent and payable-as a result of account sanctions, and debt and fairness limitations, on institutions holding almost 80 per cent of Russian banking sector assets”, the White House explained.

“The scale of Putin’s aggression and the risk it poses to the international buy call for a resolute reaction, and we will continue imposing serious fees if he does not change study course,” the Biden administration included in a statement.

The US applauded Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom for possessing agreed to consider “similarly forceful” actions from Russia.

Here’s a record of the US sanctions:

Severing the connection to the US monetary method for Russia’s major fiscal lender, Sberbank, which include 25 subsidiaries, by imposing actions that slice off Sberbank’s obtain to transactions designed in the dollar. Sberbank retains nearly a person-3rd of Russia’s banking sector assets.
Sanctions on Russia’s 2nd-major fiscal institution, VTB Lender (VTB), and its subsidiaries, freezing assets touching the US economical method and banning US folks from doing company with them. Intensely exposed to the US and western fiscal programs, VTB retains almost just one-fifth of Russia’s banking sector assets.
Similar full-blocking sanctions on Bank Otkritie, Sovcombank OJSC, and Novikombank and dozens of its subsidiaries, with measures freezing any of these institutions’ assets touching the US economic technique and also prohibiting Us citizens from performing company with them.
New financial debt and equity restrictions on 13 significant Russian monetary entities, like limitations on all transactions in, provision of financing for, and other dealings in new credit card debt of larger than 14 days maturity and new fairness issued by 13 Russian state-owned enterprises. Sberbank, AlfaBank, Credit rating Financial institution of Moscow, Gazprombank, Russian Agricultural Lender, Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Transneft, Rostelecom, RusHydro, Alrosa, Sovcomflot, and Russian Railways are on the list. With estimated belongings of about $1.4 trillion, these entities will be not able to elevate funds via the US market.
Extra whole-blocking sanctions on Russian elites and their household associates and persons “who have enriched themselves at the expenditure of the Russian state”. Heads of Russia’s premier economical institutions and individuals liable for offering the methods necessary to help the invasion of Ukraine are also focused.
Two dozen Belarusian persons and entities were also sanctioned for supporting the assault on Ukraine. Two popular Belarusian state-owned banks, nine defence firms, and seven folks are among individuals affected.
Russia’s armed service and defence ministry limited from shopping for nearly all US merchandise and items produced in international nations making use of specified US-origin software, technology, or equipment.
Defence, aviation, and maritime technological know-how matter to Russia-wide limitations aimed at choking off Moscow’s import of tech products. That also involves a Russia-vast denial of exports of some technology. The US sanctions will also impose Russia-broad restrictions on some US systems manufactured in other countries like semiconductors, encryption safety, lasers, sensors, navigation, avionics and maritime systems.
Licensing exemptions for countries that adopt export restrictions on Russia will be executed, reducing US licensing requirements for goods made in their nations around the world. The EU, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the Uk have presently communicated their options for parallel steps.

February 25, 2022

Sanctions on Russia could include insurance: analyst

(Reuters) – Oil price ranges jumped on Thursday, with Brent increasing previously mentioned $105 a barrel for the 1st time given that 2014, just after Russia’s attack on Ukraine exacerbated fears about disruptions to international electrical power supply.

Russia released an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea in the most important assault by just one condition versus a further in Europe since Environment War Two.

The United States and Europe have promised the hardest sanctions on Russia in response.

“If sanctions have an affect on payment transactions, Russian banking companies and maybe also the insurance policies that covers Russian oil and gasoline deliveries, provide outages can not be excluded,” explained Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

At least three main prospective buyers of Russian oil have been not able to open up letters of credit score from Western banks to include purchases on Thursday, sources explained to Reuters.

Brent crude was up $8.15, or 8.4{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}, at $104.99 a barrel as of 1221 GMT, obtaining touched a higher of $105.79. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped $7.33, or 8{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}, to $99.43.

Brent and WTI hit their maximum since August and July 2014 respectively.

“Russia is the third-major oil producer and 2nd-premier oil exporter. Offered very low inventories and dwindling spare capability, the oil sector cannot afford to pay for big offer disruptions,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

“Supply issues may perhaps also spur oil stockpiling activity, which supports rates.”

Russia is also the largest company of all-natural gasoline to Europe, furnishing about 35{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of its provide.

United kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed Britain and its allies would unleash a large package of economic sanctions on Russia and mentioned the West ought to finish its reliance on Russian oil and gas.

China warned on the impression of tensions on the steadiness of the vitality marketplace.

“All international locations that are certainly liable ought to choose liable steps to jointly keep global vitality safety,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson reported.

World-wide oil provides keep on being restricted as demand recovers from pandemic lows.

Underscoring the limited industry, rates on crude contracts for loading in a single month in excess of contracts for loadings in 6 months, a metric carefully watched by traders, hit a record high at $11.55 a barrel.

“This increasing uncertainty for the duration of a time when the oil current market is now restricted does leave it susceptible, and so price ranges are probable to continue being risky and elevated,” claimed Warren Patterson, head of ING’s commodity investigation.

Analysts consider that Brent is likely to remain earlier mentioned $100 a barrel right up until major alternate materials become readily available from OPEC, U.S. shale or Iran, for example.

The United States and Iran have been engaged in oblique nuclear talks in Vienna that could lead to the removal of sanctions on Iranian oil product sales.

Iran’s best protection official Ali Shamkhani reported on Twitter on Thursday that it is possible to achieve a very good nuclear agreement with Western powers soon after important development in negotiations.

Analysts are warning of inflationary force on the world wide economic climate from $100 oil, particularly for Asia, which imports most of its energy desires.

“Asia’s Achilles heel remains its large import desires for electricity, with surging oil price ranges bound to acquire a significant chunk out of cash flow and expansion in excess of the coming calendar year,” said HSBC economist Frederic Neumann.