Ukraine, Interest Rate Worries May Weigh On Wall Street

[ADVFN]( [[Global Email] World Daily Markets Bulletin]( Thursday, 17 February 2022 09:06:29 [ADVFN Twitter]( [Monitor]( [Quote]( [Charts]( [News]( [Toplists]( [Boards]( [How Pro Traders Actually Pick Their Stocks]( When a stock skyrockets, we're eager to see if it will continue to push higher or reverse course. And there is one way to know what's coming next, but it isn't what you think. It's the only guaranteed way to get answers. [Check out this must-see tool for predictive analysis.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- US Market Bitcoin [Bitcoin]( DAX [DAX]( Dow Jones [Dow Jones]( Nasdaq [Nasdaq]( The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside following the recovery attempt seen late in the previous session. Lingering concerns about tensions between Ukraine and Russia may continue to weigh on the markets, as Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists trade accusations of attacks in the eastern part of the country. Russian state-controlled media claimed that Ukrainian forces had shelled territory held by the separatists, while Ukraine has accused Russian-backed rebels of attacking a village in the region. The outlook for interest rates also remains on investors minds? following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve?s latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. The minutes reiterated the Fed?s view that it would ?soon be appropriate? to begin raising rates but were not as hawkish as some had feared. Early trading may also be impacted by reaction to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing an unexpected rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended February 12th. Stocks showed a notable move to the downside in morning trading on Wednesday but staged a significant recovery attempt in the afternoon. The major averages bounced well off their lows of the session, with the S&P 500 managing to close in positive territory. The major averages finished the day narrowly mixed. While the S&P 500 inched up 3.94 points or 0.1 percent to 4,475.01, the Dow dipped 54.57 points or 0.2 percent to 34,934.27 and the Nasdaq edged down 15.66 points or 0.1 percent to 14,124.10. The rebound in afternoon trading came as the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January monetary policy meeting reiterated the view that it would "soon be appropriate" to begin raising interest rates but were not as hawkish as some had feared. "While the minutes of the late-January FOMC meeting pre-date the release of the stronger-than-expected labor market and inflation data covering last month, officials didn't appear to be seriously considering either a 50bp rate hike to start the tightening cycle or a hike at each of the remaining seven policy meetings this year," said Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics. The minutes showed most participants agreed it would be appropriate to remove policy accommodation at a faster pace than currently anticipated if inflation does not move down as expected. Ashworth said this suggestion is "arguably a little more hawkish" but added, "Still, nothing in the minutes suggests Jim Bullard's ultra-hawkishness is shared by the majority on the FOMC." St. Louis Fed President James Bullard recently indicated he supports raising interest rates by a full percentage point by the start of July and told CNBC he favors front-loading planned rate increases. Earlier in the day, traders were weighing lingering concerns about ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine against some better than economic data. While Russian claims they are pulling some troops back from the Ukrainian border contributed to weakness among treasuries on Tuesday, Western leaders have subsequently said they have not verified the moves. Cyberattacks on the websites of Ukraine's defense ministry as well as two major Ukrainian banks have also led to worries Russia could still be poised to invade. Meanwhile, a report from the Commerce Department showed a substantial rebound in U.S. retail sales in the month of January. The Commerce Department said retail sales soared by 3.8 percent in January after plunging by a revised 2.5 percent in December. Economists had expected retail sales to jump by 2.0 percent compared to the 1.9 percent slump originally reported for the previous month. Excluding a sharp increase in motor vehicle and parts sales, retail sales still spiked by 3.3 percent in January following a 2.8 percent nosedive in December. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.8 percent. The Labor Department also released a separate report showing U.S. import prices increased by much more than expected in the month of January. The report said import prices surged up by 2.0 percent in January after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in December. The spike in import prices reflected the biggest monthly increase since April of 2011. Economists had expected import prices to jump by 1.0 percent compared to the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for the previous month. In other economic news, the Federal Reserve released a report showing production rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of January. The Fed said industrial production jumped by 1.4 percent in January after edging down by 0.1 percent in December. Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.4 percent. Gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.3 percent to its best closing level in three months. The rally by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal. A significant rebound by the price of crude oil also contributed to substantial strength among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. Computer hardware and tobacco stocks also moved notably higher as the day progressed, while most of the other major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves --------------------------------------------------------------- [MUST SEE 'Set and Forget' Dividend Portfolio]( The easiest way to self-manage your dividend income portfolio without losing a ton of money is following my advice below. Dividend stocks I personally recommend and buy myself are meant to held for a long time. 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Meanwhile, the report showed the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 243,250, a decrease of 10,500 from the previous week's revised average of 253,750. The Commerce Department also released a report showing new residential construction in the U.S. pulled back sharply in the month of January. The report said housing starts tumbled by 4.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.638 million in January after inching up by 0.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.708 million in December. Economists had expected housing starts to edge down by 0.1 percent to a rate of 1.700 million from the 1.702 million originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the report said building permits climbed by 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.899 million in January after spiking by 9.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.885 million in December. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to plunge by 6.0 percent to a rate of 1.760 million from the 1.873 million originally reported for the previous month. A separate report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area expanded at a slower rate in the month of February. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current activity slid to 16.0 in February from 23.2 in January, although a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to dip to 20.0. At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month?s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes. St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard is also due to speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Columbia University & SGH Macro Advisors Fireside Chat at 11 am ET. At 5 pm ET, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy before a virtual event of the Volatility and Risk Institute and the Center for the Global Economy and Business, NYU Stern School of Business. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks in Focus Shares of Fastly (FSLY) are plummeting in pre-market trading after the cloud computing services provider reported a narrower than expected fourth quarter loss on revenues that exceeded analyst estimates but provided disappointing 2022 guidance. Travel review site operator TripAdvisor (TRIP) is also likely to see initial weakness after reporting an unexpected fourth quarter loss on revenues that came in below expectations. On the other hand, shares of DoorDash (DASH) are seeing substantial pre-market strength after the food delivery service reported better than expected fourth quarter sales and issued an upbeat outlook for the current quarter. Auto retailer AutoNation (AN) is also likely to move to the upside after reporting fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines. --------------------------------------------------------------- Europe European stocks gave up early gains to turn lower on Thursday after Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine accused Ukrainian forces of using mortars, grenade launchers and a machine gun in four separate incidents. While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has fallen by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.2 percent. Lender Standard Chartered has shown a significant move to the downside after its fourth quarter earnings and revenue missed forecasts. Aircraft giant Airbus has also moved notably lower after saying it is targeting 720 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2022. Automaker Renault has also fallen after industry data showed Europe's new car registrations continued to decline in January. Shares of Air France-KLM have moved sharply lower despite the airline turning to a positive operating result in its fourth quarter. Drug delivery devices maker Gerresheimer has also plummeted after its fourth quarter earnings per share declined 9.4 percent. On the other hand, price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com has moved higher despite posting a revenue loss. Ocado Group shares have also risen in London after the online grocery services provider announced plans to extend its partnership with Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA in France. Reckitt Benckiser has also shown a strong move to the upside after the household products group outstripped quarterly sales forecasts. French luxury goods maker Kering has also moved sharply higher after reporting strong growth in fourth quarter sales. German rivals BMW and Daimler have also moved to the upside after Germany's car sales advanced 8.5 percent in January. Commerzbank has also surged after the German lender posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and painted a rosy outlook for 2022. Engineering firm Arcadis NV has also jumped after its full year 2021 operating EBITA increased by 9 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a full view of the market? Level 2 lets you see all of the orders to buy and sell shares, allowing you to see what is really going on in the market. If you don?t have this in your trading toolkit, you?re at a serious disadvantage. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Asia USDCAD [USDCAD]( USDEUR [USDEUR]( USDGBP [USDGBP]( USDJPY [USDJPY]( Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Thursday after minutes from the latest Fed meeting showed officials are leaning toward more decisive action on inflation but set no firm targets. Ukraine worries persisted after the United States said it had seen no evidence of a significant Russian pullback of its military forces from Ukraine's borders. Chinese shares ended marginally higher on hopes for more policy easing. Hong Kong shares eked out modest gains, with the Hang Seng Index rising 0.3 percent to 24792.77 after reports that authorities are preparing mass testing to fight Covid. Japanese shares fell after data showed exports grew less than expected in January and the adjusted trade balance went further into deficit for the month. Core machinery orders rose 3.6 percent in December from the previous month, offering some respite. The Nikkei 225 Index slid 227.53 points, or 0.8 percent, to 27,232.87, while the broader Topix closed 0.8 percent lower at 1,931.24. Fast Retailing, Fanuc, Toyota Motor and SoftBank dropped 1-2 percent ahead of an announcement on easing of strict virus border rules. Australian markets ended slightly higher as Woodside Petroleum reported strong annual results and firm bullion prices helped lift gold miners. Australia's unemployment rate stayed held steady at 4.2 percent in January as a surge in the Omicron strain of Covid-19 took a toll on hours worked, data showed earlier in the day. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index edged up 11.30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,296.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended little changed with a positive bias at 7,574.80. Oil & gas producer Woodside Petroleum surged 4.1 percent, while gold miners Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining rose 4.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Retail conglomerate Wesfarmers lost 7.5 percent after it posted a 14.2 percent drop in first-half profit. Seoul stocks rose for a second straight session after the FOMC meeting minutes offered no surprises. Investors also cheered government data showing that the country recorded its strongest job growth in 22 years in January due to a low base effect and the ongoing economic recovery from the pandemic. The Kospi rose 14.41 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,744.09 amid foreign and institutional buying. Battery maker Samsung SDI topped the gainers list to end 3.2 percent higher at 557,000 won. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you day trade? Trader Alerts streams stocks reaching new highs and lows as well as stocks breaking out of previous volume highs as they happen. It?s a powerful tool for day trading ideas. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Crude oil futures are slumping $1.12 to $92.54 a barrel after jumping $1.59 to $93.66 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $15.30 to $1,871.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $25.60 to $1,897.10 an ounce. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 114.88 yen versus the 115.52 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1359 compared to yesterday?s $1.1373. --------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click [here](. Registered Office/Accounts Dept: Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gable, Fyfield Road, Ongar, CM5 0GA. Customer Support +1 888-992-3836. Company registered in England and Wales: Number 2374988 VAT No. GB 549 2130 49