European stocks look set to open on a flat note Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed the country would triumph in all of its “noble” war aims in Ukraine.
His Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, urged the European Union to impose sanctions on all Russian banks and set terms for when each EU state will refuse or limit Russian energy sources such as gas.
Asian markets were mostly up after core U.S. inflation data rose less than expected, helping ease concerns around inflation and interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Treasury yields eased and the dollar inched down despite hawkish comments from Fed Governor Lael Brainard overnight.
Yellow metal prices were flat after gaining as much as 1 percent in the previous session.
Oil extended gains in Asian trade after having jumped around 7 percent on Tuesday as China partially eased Covid curbs and OPEC warned it would be impossible to replace potential supply losses from Russia.
In economic releases, customs data showed earlier today that China’s exports rose 13.4 percent in yuan terms year on year in January-March, while imports increased 7.5 percent.
Trading later in the day may be impacted by reaction to the U.S. Labor Department’s report on producer price inflation for March.
U.S. stocks reversed earlier gains on Tuesday to end lower for a second straight session as fresh data showed inflation accelerated to a new 40-year high in March, though some components of core inflation weakened.
All three major averages slipped around 0.3 percent while two- and 10-year Treasury yields had their biggest declines in weeks amid speculation that the inflation surge that started in early 2021 is close to a peak.
U.S. consumer inflation rose 8.5 percent in March from a year ago, marking the fastest growth since December 1981.
European stocks fell on Tuesday after data showed confidence in Germany’s economic recovery slid for a second month. The pan European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.4 percent.
The German DAX dropped half a percent, France’s CAC 40 index eased 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 shed 0.6 percent.
Market Analysis
European Shares Seen Flat As Putin Vows War Will Continue
2022-04-13 05:46:21
