Equities down and oil, gold up on Russia-Ukraine tensions [Video]

Ipek Ozkardeskaya Swissquote Bank Ltd

The week starts on quite a tense note as the tensions between Ukraine and Russia don’t seem to be headed in the right direction with reports on Friday hinting at the possibility of a Russian invasion before ‘the end of the Beijing Olympics’.

European equities are deep in the red, with FTSE 100 somehow doing less bad than the others on rising energy and commodity prices, but the Euro Stoxx is already down 2.33% and the DAX by 2.85%.

US crudes flirts with the $95 per barrel, and gold welcomes decent safe-haven capital. While US sovereigns, energy and gold are the favorite destinations for those who are seeking protection in the actual environment, any relief on the Ukrainian front could send the recent gains in oil and gold crumbling.

On the economic agenda: US PPI and FOMC minutes will be closely watched. We know that engineering a policy that would bring inflation down to the 2% target in the US would also bring unnecessary stress on the market and on the economy. Would that help cooling the Fed hawks?

Author

Ipek Ozkardeskaya

Swissquote Bank Ltd

Ipek Ozkardeskaya began her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked in HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

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