Breaking: S&P 500 futures drop as Ukraine's military fires mortar shells and grenades at four LPR locations

FXStreet Team FXStreet

Early Thursday morning in Europe, risk-aversion hits global markets as Sputnik shared news of Ukraine firing of mortars & grenades on Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) locations.

"The attack came amid tensed relations beween Russia and NATO, whose members have been claiming that Moscow's alleged military buildup near Ukraine's borders would lead to an 'invasion'," as reported by the Russia media Sputnik.

Market implications

Following the news, the US Dollar Index (DXY) gained across the board while reversing the early-day losses. On the same line was a sudden drop in the S&P 500 Futures, as well as the US Treasury yields, down 0.20% intraday and eight basis points (bps) at the latest.

The risk-off mood could well be witnessed in downbeat prices of AUD/USD and NZD/USD. However, gold seems to benefit from the rush to risk-safety as it regains $1,873 by the press time.

It’s worth noting that a lack of details may doubt the news and reverse the recent move should traders hear nothing concrete. Hence, the market players need to remain cautious.

Read: US T-bond yields, S&P 500 Futures portray indecision over Russia, Fed

Fresh updates

Following the news, Reuters quoted sources to reveal more information. "Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine accused Kyiv government forces on Thursday of using mortars to attack their territory, in violation of agreements aimed at ending the conflict, the RIA news agency said," as reported by Reuters.

Author

FXStreet Team

FXStreet

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

GBP/USD hits multi-week tops around 1.3560

GBP/USD gathers fresh steam and advances to new three-month peaks near the 1.3560 zone on Friday. Cable’s sharp move higher comes after three daily drops in a row and follows the increasing selling pressure hurting the Greenback.

EUR/USD pops to fresh two-month highs, targets 1.1600

EUR/USD advances markedly, revisiting the upper 1.1500s for the first time since mid-June. The pair’s sharp uptick comes on the back of a strong retracement in the US Dollar amid BoJ intervention chatter and despite steady uncertainty in the Middle East.

Gold picks up pace, approaches $4,400

Gold rebounds toward the $4,400 mark per troy ounce on Friday, reversing the previous day’s pullback. The precious metal’s recovery comes as fresh and intense weakness keep weighing on the US Dollar, while traders keep assessing easing expectations of an imminent Fed interest rate hike and the situation from the Middle East.

Pi Network Price Forecast: PI extends consolidation as bulls eye $0.10

Pi Network (PI) price holds steady on Friday, maintaining a consolidating tone for three consecutive days. Mild retail strength in the PI token remains stable, with Open Interest above $9 million, while social buzz eases. PI token’s technical outlook is mixed, as bearish momentum wanes to neutral, with bulls eyeing the $0.1000 psychological level.

Weekly focus: Some relief in US inflation concerns

Actual inflation data for July came out as expected with a 0.1% m/m increase in headline CPI and 0.2% excluding food and energy. Annual headline inflation remains too high at 3.4% and means that wage earners are experiencing stagnating spending power at best, and core inflation is a bit higher than the inflation target of two percent would suggest.

Why is Crude Oil priced for a reopening the ships haven't made?

Fourteen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Before the war, the count ran near 120 a day. In the sessions since the waterway was publicly declared open, Brent has drifted back to $87 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to $81, both a little lower again on Wednesday, with daily momentum on each unwound from the top of its range in late July to the low twenties now.