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What’s next after a bull market in US stocks, Ukraine blames Russia for a dam blast and China asks banks to cut deposit rates. — Kristine Aq [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( What’s next after a bull market in US stocks, Ukraine blames Russia for a dam blast and China asks banks to cut deposit rates. — [Kristine Aquino]( Bull moment US equity futures drifted lower on Tuesday, [a day after the S&P 500 was briefly proclaimed a bull market](. It could keep going, given low volatility and better-than-expected corporate profit growth, according to Bloomberg Opinion columnist [John Authers]( and reporter [Isabelle Lee](. That said, the fact that stock valuations look too expensive and gains have been driven mostly by the largest firms could challenge the bull market. “The clearest message is that nobody should assume that US stocks will rise in a straight line from here, just because they’ve gained 20% from their low,” Authers and Lee write. Dam blast [Ukraine said Russian forces blew up a giant dam in the country’s south](, unleashing a torrent of floodwater across the battlefield separating their two armies. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry urged people to prepare for evacuation as a rise in water levels threatens 10 villages on the western bank of the Dnipro. While crops aren’t directly at risk, wheat prices [surged]( as much as 3% on Tuesday. The dam’s destruction “looks like a big escalation with dire consequences and huge headline risk,” Andrey Sizov, managing director at agricultural consultant SovEcon, said in a tweet. China rates [Chinese authorities asked the nation’s biggest banks to lower their deposit rates]( for at least the second time in less than a year, according to people familiar with the matter. State-owned lenders including [Bank of China]( were last week advised to cut rates on demand deposits, as well as three-year and five-year time deposits. “Cutting deposit rates could provide incentive and capacity to banks for more credit support. It also means reduced chance of policy-rate cuts in the near term,” said Bruce Pang, chief economist for Greater China at Jones Lang LaSalle. Cautious markets S&P 500 futures were down 0.1% as of 5:38 a.m. in New York, while Nasdaq 100 contracts edged lower. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index erased earlier losses, leading to mixed trading among Group-of-10 currencies. Treasury yields fell across the curve, mirroring moves in Europe and the UK. Oil fell, reversing yesterday’s rally. Bitcoin rebounded after falling nearly 6% on Monday, while gold was little changed. Coming up… At 9:45 a.m., Securities & Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will speak on Bloomberg TV. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon will discuss banking and the economy with House Democrats over a closed-door lunch. Are companies raising their prices excessively? Which sectors have been the most aggressive in their markups? Share your views in the latest [MLIV Pulse survey](. What we’ve been reading Here’s what caught our eye over the past 24 hours: - [Apple’s $3,499 mixed-reality headset]( will test its marketing might - [The super rich escaping to Miami]( are insulated from the realities of crime - Blackstone scores billions on [one of the best real estate trades ever]( - [US Treasuries have been blacklisted by a German state]( due to ESG laws - [Shrinkflation leaves UK consumers]( paying more for less - [Ferrari will stick with Formula 1 racing](even after a disappointing season - [Cheers bar sells for $675,000 at auction](of nearly 1,000 TV show items And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning… Business surveys have been pretty disappointing lately. And [yesterday's ISM Services report was no exception](. The headline number came in at 50.3, down from 51.9 in the previous month, and below the 52.4 that economists had expected. That being said, there are signs that within this slowdown, a lot of things are just returning to normal. This is something that [Alex Williams of Employ America flagged](. If you look at the anecdotal commentary from business respondents, a lot of it looks like the extremes of recent years are simply starting to fade. Here's a sampling of comments from the report that speak to this idea of business getting back to normal: - “Restaurant sales continue to track positive year over year, up an average of 8 percent past month. Employment needs have leveled off, and we are in a position to evaluate and upgrade rather than just maintain. Supply-chain pressures have eased overall, with some categories still hot spots. We are in a position to continue investing in technology upgrades and restaurant remodels.” [Accommodation & Food Services] - “Electronic-components supply is strong, and lead times are nearly back to pre-pandemic.” [Information] - “Lead times are starting to shorten, due in part to greater transportation availability. Prices, in general, are continuing to increase, but at a slower pace. Supply chain is becoming much more reliable.” [Public Administration] - “Everything seems to have leveled off: not getting any worse, not getting any better.” [Professional, Scientific & Technical Services] - “Business has significantly increased, with more orders, newer customers and more activity in general. More end users are getting back to business as usual, fighting for lower prices and taking a few more days to pay. The leverage point seems to have shifted back to end users, which is healthy.” [Transportation & Warehousing] - “Lead times are starting to shorten, due in part to greater transportation availability. Prices, in general, are continuing to increase, but at a slower pace. Supply chain is becoming much more reliable.” [Public Administration] - “Supply is plentiful, freight is moving quickly and costs are coming down. This is a 180-degree change from a year ago. Also, sales demand is down.” [Wholesale Trade] Not all of the comments are positive. There was one in particular about credit that's worth watching, as it remains a source of concern. - “Economy is slowing amid increased financial banking and leasing activity. Credit standards have increased, and approvals have fallen — thus, a tight credit situation.” [Management of Companies & Support Services] Either way the question still remains the same. Does normalization of activity (pace of demand, health of supply chains, labor availability etc.) translate into stabilization of prices? That's TBD. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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