(ABM FN) The Brussels stock exchange is expected to start in the dark red on Monday. Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 index pointed to a loss of about 2 percent about an hour before the stock market bell.
Last week international stock markets were gripped by the war in Ukraine and investors will continue to monitor developments closely this week as fighting continues, the West announces more and more sanctions and Russia threatens to deploy its nuclear weapons.
The Brussels stock market closed sharply higher on Friday with a gain of no less than 4.2 percent and could even book a plus on a weekly basis, thanks to, among other things, a remarkably resilient recovery on Wall Street.
For example, the Nasdaq turned spectacular on Thursday from an opening loss of 3.5 percent to a closing gain of 3.3 percent. On Friday, a profit of 1.6 percent was added. As a result, the tech exchange closed almost unchanged on a weekly basis. Oil prices also fell sharply towards the end of the trading week.
This morning, however, Nasdaq futures are down 2.3 percent, while US oil futures are up just 6 percent
Wall Street, according to commentators, took heart on Friday news that Moscow would be open to peace talks if Ukraine surrenders. That condition can be put on hold after last weekend, after unexpectedly tough Ukrainian military resistance. After five days of fierce fighting, Russia has still not taken the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Russia and Ukraine did agree on Sunday to have a delegation negotiate today at the border between Belarus and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already said he does not expect much from the meeting.
US officials say Russian President Vladimir Putin misjudged the determination of Ukraine’s military response. Putin is said to have been convinced that the Ukrainian army would collapse within hours of a Russian invasion and that his president Zelensky would flee. Neither happened.
The courageous Ukrainian resistance to a Russian force majeure, led by Zelensky, who knows how to play social media very skillfully, has inspired Western countries to take far-reaching measures. Weapons are being delivered to Ukraine, among other things, Western airspace has already been partially closed to Russian aircraft and some Russian banks are denied access to international payments.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered nuclear weapons to be armed in response to ‘Western aggression’.
Asian stocks struggled to choose direction this morning, following Friday’s gains on Wall Street and significantly lower futures this morning. Most exchanges remain close to home with modest gains. Hong Kong loses almost 1 percent.
Oil and inflation
In the longer term, investors are mainly guided by the inflationary impact of the war on energy and food prices, at a time when Western central banks are about to raise interest rates to contain the excessively high inflation.
Until last Sunday night, there were hardly any analysts who actually took into account a frontal attack by Russia on Ukraine. The shock to the oil markets was therefore initially large. Brent oil futures peaked at nearly $106 a barrel last week, before falling back sharply. The pledge by US President Joe Biden to release additional barrels of oil from US reserves, among other things, brought oil prices into calmer waters.
U.S. oil futures eventually closed slightly higher on a weekly basis, despite hefty swings. This morning, however, the West Texas Intermediate barrel futures in the Asian Asian market was 5.4 percent higher, while the Brent future gained just under 5 percent at $102.50 a barrel.
Energy firm Rystad Energy does not rule out the possibility that oil prices could rise to USD 130 a barrel if the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, while analysts at JPMorgan Chase are forecasting USD 120 a barrel. An increase towards the record $ 147, a level that was reached in 2008, is not excluded according to some market experts.
Next Wednesday, OPEC and its allies will meet to discuss existing production agreements and whether they should be adjusted in view of the current geopolitical tensions.
The macroeconomic agenda has traditionally been very sparse on Mondays.
Company news
As expected, Ackermans & van Haaren recorded a record profit in 2021. At 407 million euros, the net profit was much higher than the 341 million euros that ING had foreseen, driven by the strong performance of three of the holding’s four core divisions. The year before, the net profit was 229.8 million euros. Ackermans & van Haaren proposes a substantially higher dividend of 2.75 euros per share, which is 17 percent higher than the previous year.
CFE delivered a solid performance in 2021 as planned with a strong increase in sales, which came in at the same level as in 2019, although the company decided not to pay a dividend.
Shareholders of Zogenix have been given an extended period of time to tender their shares under UCB’s takeover bid.
Care Property Invest bought a newly built residential care center in Murcia, Spain. The total investment value is estimated at approximately 10.8 million euros.
Wall Street closing positions
The S&P 500 gained 2.2 percent on Friday to close at 4,384.65 points and the Dow Jones index rose 2.5 percent to 34,058.75 points. The Nasdaq ended 1.6 percent higher at 13,694.62 points.
Bron: ABM Financial News
From Beursplein 5, the editors of ABM Financial News keep a close eye on developments on the stock exchanges, and the Amsterdam stock exchange in particular. The information in this column is not intended as professional investment advice or as a recommendation to make certain investments.
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