In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei index was at the mercy of twists in the Ukraine standoff on Friday, paring big early losses after news that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week. The Nikkei ended the morning session 0.51 percent lower at 27,094.16, after sinking as much as 1.62 percent earlier. The broader Topix entered the midday break down 0.43 percent at 1,922.99, paring earlier losses as steep as 1.33 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia shares outside Japan was last down 0.24 percent.
In Currency Markets the safe-haven yen reversed course on Friday, giving up some its gains from earlier this week as markets seemed to take cheer from news of talks between the U.S. and Russia about Ukraine, helping other risk-friendly assets including the Aussie dollar. The dollar rose 0.2 percent on the yen, and earlier reached as high as 115.27 yen, having touched a two-week low of 114.78 in early Friday trading. The euro continued its week of choppy trading based on Ukraine headlines and was at $1.1365 on Friday, while the pound was at $1.3605.
In US Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday, with investors hastening a move late in the session toward defensive sectors and safe havens such as U.S. bonds and gold as geopolitical tensions between Washington and Russia over Ukraine flared. The Dow fell 1.78 percent, to 34,312.03, the S&P 500 lost 2.12 percent, to 4,380.26 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.88 percent, to 13,716.72. TripAdvisor Inc lost 2.50 percent after the hotel search website operator posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss. Albemarle Corp fell 19.91 percent as the lithium producer forecast downbeat annual earnings.
In Commodities Markets oil prices fell about 2 percent on Thursday as talks to resurrect a nuclear deal with Iran entered their final stages and could unlock more crude supplies, but losses were limited by tension between top energy exporter Russia and the West over Ukraine. Brent futures fell 1.9 percent, to settle at $92.97 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude fell 2.0 percent, to settle at $91.76. Spot gold jumped 1.7 percent to $1,899.84 per ounce. Auto-catalyst metal palladium jumped 3.4 percent to $2,358.19. Silver gained 1.4 percent to $23.87, and platinum climbed 2.3 percent to $1,085.83.
In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday as heightened Russia-Ukraine tensions eclipsed a slew of encouraging earnings from companies such as Kering, Reckitt Benckiser and Commerzbank. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.7 percent with banking and energy shares leading declines as oil prices fell and benchmark European bond yields fell for the second consecutive session as investors sought shelter in the safety of bonds. Commerzbank added 3.2 percent after the German lender swung to a better-than-expected fourth quarter and painted a rosy outlook for 2022.
In Bond Markets yields fell on Thursday as bonds benefited from safe haven demand on concerns about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, and after U.S. economic data came in weaker than economists’ expectations. Benchmark 10-year yields fell 7 basis points to 1.974 percent. The 30-year TIPS yields reached 0.213 percent, the highest since March, before falling back to 0.189 percent. The yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes has steepened to 49 basis points, after reaching 38 basis points on Monday, which was the flattest since July 2020.