US stock futures fell in the early hours of Sunday as investors worried about the economic ramifications of the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
The futures dropped 450 points. The S&P 500 futures fell 2.5%.
Global and U.S. equity markets experienced volatile trading last week as tensions between Russia and Ukraine increased. Moscow launched military action in Ukraine early Thursday.
The Russian advance into Ukraine continued over the weekend. Russian military vehicles entered the city of Kharkiv with reports of fighting and residents being warned to stay indoors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin put his country's nuclear deterrence forces on high alert on Sunday. Representatives for Ukraine and Russia have agreed to meet on the border, with no preconditions, according to the Defense Ministry.
The futures for the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose more than 4% on Sunday. The contract for April crude rose 4% to near $102 per barrel.
President Joe Biden announced several rounds of sanctions on Russian banks, the country's debt, and Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week.
The U.S., European allies and Canada agreed to remove Russian banks from the interbank messaging system.
The freezing of the Russian central bank's access to its foreign currency reserves in the West increases economic tail risk, according to Dennis DeBusschere.
He believes that Russia can still sell oil, and that there could beloop holes in Russia's frozen assets, which might limit the disaster in markets for a few days.
The Russian ruble was going to tumble at least 19% with banks offering it at 100 rubles per dollar. It was worth 84 rubles per dollar on Friday.
If there are signs of peace or a near-term victory for either side, traders will be watching for that.
The best day since November 2020 for the Dow was on Friday.
It was the third week of losses for the Dow. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both rose in the week.
The index is 15% from its record close. The S&P 500 is not in correction territory.
The Federal Reserve Chairman will testify before Congress twice in the coming week, and he will be followed closely for any signal on whether the Fed will raise rates.
The February jobs report is expected Friday, and investors will get an update on the labor department later in the week. In the month of January, 467,000 payrolls were added.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
