:format(jpg):watermark(cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/EF665FJJCNGHFFHRRMWR57UKMI.png,0,30,0)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ipmgroup/K6PX5WGJT5F23DLLQTIY5AYJUQ.jpg "The New York Stock Exchange in the red, disconcerted by the crisis in Ukraine")
The New York Stock Exchange was jittery on Tuesday due to heightened tensions with Russia over Ukraine and the prospect of tough sanctions against Moscow.
At 15:00 GMT, the indices, which had all opened sharply in the red, ranged between positive and negative territory. The Dow Jones index was down 0.23%, the Nasdaq was up 0.12% and the S&P 500 was down 0.20%.
Paralyzed by the uncertainty linked to the crisis in Ukraine, Wall Street had ended in decline on Friday before a long three-day weekend, linked to the President’s Day holiday.
The Dow Jones was down 0.68% at 34,079.18 points, the technology-majority Nasdaq was down 1.23% at 13,548.06 points, and the S&P 500 was up 0.72% at 4,348.87 points. Over the week, the Dow Jones was down 1.90%, the Nasdaq was down 1.76% and the S&P 500 was up 1.58%.
Investors are worried about the potential impact on business of heavy sanctions on Russia after Moscow recognized pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to enter these separatist territories, prompting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council overnight.
Oil prices rose sharply, by 2.50% for Brent from the North Sea to 97.73 dollars and by 3.31% for the contract on a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to 94.08 dollars. Earlier in London, black gold, at its highest in seven years, came close to the symbolic bar of 100 dollars a barrel.
The energy price shock
“Tensions between Russia and Ukraine pose low risk to U.S. corporate earnings”JP Morgan analysts explained in a note on Tuesday.
“But it’s the energy price shock, amid the central bank’s (Fed) monetary policy shift towards inflation-fighting, that could further weigh on investor sentiment and the outlook. of growth”they warned.
“The US, UK and EU have already announced initial sanctions against Russia, and Germany has halted certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline”noted Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com as world leaders call on Russia to seek a diplomatic solution.
“It all seems very messy, but maybe it’s not as bad as you might think”hoped the analyst, assuring “that market participants are still not convinced that the worst-case scenario will materialize”.
Yields on 10-year US debt were stabilizing around 1.93%.
Schwab analysts also pointed out that investors remained concerned about the upcoming tightening of monetary policy, three weeks before the next decisive meeting of the Fed which will begin to raise interest rates.
The Case-Shiller index of U.S. house prices in the 20 largest cities, released on Tuesday, rose 18.6% year on year in December, more than expected, a new element coming to feed inflation, noted Schwab analysts.
Is popular
On the stock exchange, the actions of energy groups were highly sought after, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Schumberger taking more than 1%.
Energy (+1.30%) was the only S&P 500 sector to move in the green while consumer products (-1.77%), materials (-1.03%) and banks (- 0.78%) were down.
The DIY chain Home Depot was sanctioned (-4.70% to 331 dollars), after warning that 2022 would see a deceleration in its growth. The group has however announced record turnover and a sharp increase in the dividend for 2021.
On the other hand, the department store chain Macy’s surprised positively with a jump in sales of 28% over the past quarter as footfall picked up in its stores. The action of the brand, which raised its sales and profit forecasts for 2022, gained 7.20% to 27.55 dollars.
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