Wall Street Today | Commodities jump most since 2009 as Ukraine war threatens supply
Stocks to drop, bonds up as oil surge dims outlook
Stocks are set to come under more pressure Wednesday as the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia stoke the cost of commodities including oil, dimming the growth outlook and boosting demand for sovereign bonds.
Futures for Japan, Australia and Hong Kong fell after Wall Street and European shares retreated. Australian debt joined a global rally in fixed income that lowered the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield to 1.73%. Gold and the dollar advanced.
War risk, liquidity squeeze spur bets on a less aggressive Fed
Money-market traders have priced out any risk that the U.S. central bank will start its tightening campaign this month with a half-point increase, which was once seen as a near certainty, and even a quarter-point move isn't completely assured.
At the same time, they have also marked down where the Fed's benchmark rate will peak to around 1.7%, a drop of over 20 basis points from previous expectations and well short of the central bank's 2.5% long-term estimate for the rate.
At the same time, they have also marked down where the Fed's benchmark rate will peak to around 1.7%, a drop of over 20 basis points from previous expectations and well short of the central bank's 2.5% long-term estimate for the rate.
Commodities jump most since 2009 as Ukraine war threatens supply
The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index, which tracks 23 futures contracts, climbed 4.1% on Tuesday. The gauge has more than doubled from a four-year low reached in March 2020, during the early days of the health crisis.
Russia and Ukraine also supply more than a quarter of world wheat exports, a fifth of corn sales and a similar share of barley shipments, plus about 80% of sunflower oil cargoes. Russian aluminum typically accounts for about 10% of U.S. imports.
With inflation and Ukraine, Powell must thread a needle on Capitol Hill this week to calm markets
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell addresses separate House and Senate panels this week as part of biannual hearings on monetary policy. Fears over the Russian invasion of Ukraine have coincided with markets quietly dialing down their expectations for Fed action.
Powell will have to convince Congress the Fed is doing more to combat inflation at a time when the markets think it will be doing less. "The balancing act is going to be difficult," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
Global hacking group Anonymous launches 'cyber war' against Russia
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a Twitter post from an account named "Anonymous" summoned hackers around the world to target Russia. Subsequent posts claimed the group was responsible for pulling down websites of the Russian oil giant Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian news agency RT and numerous Russian and Belarusian government agencies.
Attracting the ire of online hackers is yet another example of how global players — from NATO powers to international businesses and everyday consumers — are protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Apple halts product sales in Russia
$Apple (AAPL.US)$ has stopped selling its products on its Apple store in Russia, the company confirmed on Tuesday. Currently, on Apple's Russia store, all Apple products are listed as "unavailable" for purchase or delivery in the country.
Apple also said on Tuesday that it has removed Russian state-controlled outlets RT News and Sputnik News from its App Store around the world.
Cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars sinks in the Atlantic
A cargo ship that caught fire last month with thousands of luxury vehicles, including models from , Bentley, Audi, Lamborghini and other $VOLKSWAGEN AG (VLKAF.US)$ brands on board sank Tuesday morning, the ship's management company said.
Incident insurance experts Russell Group Ltd. estimated that the cargo on board the Felicity Ace was worth about $438 million, of which the cars on board accounted for about $401 million. Russell estimated that VW could face losses of at least $155 million.
Target profit rises as annual revenue crosses $100 billion
After a two-year pandemic run that brought $Target (TGT.US)$ billions in sales, the retailer wants to keep growing by building more stores and e-commerce hubs and new lines of business.
Comparable sales, which include sales from stores or digital channels operating for at least 12 months, rose 8.9% in the quarter ended Jan. 29 from a year prior, the company said. Digital sales increased 9.2%.
Target profit rises as annual revenue crosses $100 billion
After a two-year pandemic run that brought $Target (TGT.US)$ billions in sales, the retailer wants to keep growing by building more stores and e-commerce hubs and new lines of business.
Comparable sales, which include sales from stores or digital channels operating for at least 12 months, rose 8.9% in the quarter ended Jan. 29 from a year prior, the company said. Digital sales increased 9.2%.
Source: Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ
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