New York (awp/afp) – Western stock markets rebounded sharply on Wednesday, with the announcement of new Russian-Ukrainian talks and moderate remarks by the President of the American Central Bank (Fed), even if the prices of the main raw materials reached heights.
In Europe, Paris rose 1.59%, after losing 5% in two days, London recovered 1.36%, Frankfurt 0.69% and Milan 0.70%. In Zurich, the SMI gained 0.08%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones gleaned 1.79%, the Nasdaq index, under technological influence, took 1.62%, and the broader S&P 500 index gained 1.86%.
“The hope of an end to the war has reappeared” according to Konstantin Oldenburger of CMC Markets, even if he envisages that the indices will fall again in the event of failure of the negotiations. The prospect of an easing of the conflict has benefited the air sector, in particular Lufthansa (+4.41%) or Air France-KLM (+3.91%).
Russia and Ukraine announced that a new session of talks would be held in Belarus on Thursday with the menu of a possible ceasefire, while the fighting continued, on the seventh day of the assault of Russian troops on the Ukraine.
Investors were sensitive to the cautious tone of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaking before the House Financial Services Committee, according to Jack Ablin, head of investment strategy at Cresset Capital.
Although he announced a quarter-point increase in the institution’s key rate at the end of its meeting on March 15 and 16, the official delivered a measured message, which suggests monetary tightening very progressive.
“We will proceed in a cautious way,” he declared during his hearing. “We will avoid adding uncertainty to what is already an extraordinarily difficult and uncertain time.”
The easing was flagrant on the bond market. The rate of 10-year US government bonds thus rose from 1.69% initially to 1.90%, an unusual jump in a market where variations are often measured in hundredths of a percentage point (0.01 point). .
Raw material records ___
OPEC+ oil producers persisted in their step-by-step approach despite soaring prices and decided to produce 400,000 more barrels a day in April.
A barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery rose 6.95% to $110.60, its highest since April 2011.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in May jumped 7.58% to 112.93 dollars, reaching its highest since 2014.
Natural gas was also driven higher, with the Dutch TTF soaring 36.05% to 165.54 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), after hitting 194.715 euros, a historic high.
“The war in Ukraine is leading to a sharp reduction in energy exports from Russia, even if these are exempt from sanctions” for the moment, observes Bjarne Schieldrop, an analyst at Seb.
“Carriers refrain from taking Russian energy shipments for fear of possible sanctions and reputational risks,” he continues.
Prices for metals of which Russia is a major producer also hit record highs: aluminum peaked at $3,552 a ton, and nickel hit $25,730 a ton, its highest since 2011.
Agricultural commodities, such as wheat, corn, soybean and palm oil, were also at peaks.
On the currency side ___
The euro was balanced at $1.1125, having earlier fallen to its lowest level since May 2020.
The ruble rebounded 5.94%, having lost nearly a third of its value in a month.
Bitcoin was taking a break (+0.04% to 43,918 dollars) after two days of strong growth.
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