The stock exchanges in New York have traded with clear gains. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky offered Russia an opening in peace talks, but his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin tempered expectations around a quick ceasefire. Oil prices fell sharply and investors fear that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at a rapid pace.
Zelensky said Ukraine must recognize that NATO military alliance membership is not feasible. A Ukrainian entry into the Western military alliance is unacceptable to Moscow. Such possible membership was partly the reason that Russia invaded its European neighbour. An adviser to Zelensky later said Ukrainian negotiators are seeing progress in talks with Russia, although Putin criticized Ukraine’s stance.
In the United States, investors looked with interest to data on the industry around New York. It performed much less strongly than expected, which could prompt the Fed to raise interest rates less quickly than previously thought. In all likelihood, the US central bank will raise its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, so it’s about the next steps. Lower interest rates are generally good for stock valuation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.8 percent higher at 33,544.34 points. The broad S&P 500 rose 2.1 percent to 4,262.45 points and tech Nasdaq rose 2.9 percent to 12,948.42 points.
A barrel of American oil fell 7.5 percent in value and cost $ 95.34. Brent oil fell just as hard and was worth $98.89 a barrel, bringing the price per barrel below $100 for the first time since March 1.
Major oil companies such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron lost up to almost 6 percent in value. Aviation groups actually benefited from the prospect of somewhat lower fuel costs. Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest gained more than 9 percent. Several airlines also came up with better prospects for the first quarter.
The Chinese tech companies listed in New York again struggled, partly due to concerns about a stricter approach to technology companies by the Chinese government. Online store Alibaba fell 1.3 percent.
The euro was worth $1.0946. That was $1.0943 at the close of the European stock markets.
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