Russia and Ukraine crisis, European stock markets calm down

This Friday, data such as UK retail sales, France CPI and Eurozone current account balance will be published, where construction sector production and, in the afternoon, consumer confidence will also be known.

UK retail sales volume rose 1.9% month-on-month in January, according to data from the Office for National Statistics released on Friday. In December, the index showed a decrease of 3.7%. A Reuters poll of analysts had expected the figure to rise 1.0 percent in January. Compared to the same month a year earlier, the retail sales figure rose 9.1%, after a 0.9% decline in December. A Reuters poll of analysts forecast a year-on-year rise of 8.7 percent in January.

at the company level, Allianz Published yesterday after closing mixed numbers for the fourth quarter with revenue of 38.4 billion, operating profit of 3.50 million, and highlighting the good operating performance of its asset management division, the company proposed an annual dividend of 10.80 euros per share and will buy back 1,000 million private shares. Looking ahead to 2022, it estimates an operating profit of 13.400 million.

Eni Fourth-quarter sales were $26.76 billion, operating profit was $5.59 billion, and adjusted net profit was $2.11 billion. You confirm the dividend policy and you will pay 0.86€ per share.

Hermes International It generated sales of 2,380 million in the fourth quarter, up 13% from a year ago, with year-end recurring operating profit of 3.530 million. The net profit amounted to 2,450 million euros and confirms the medium-term goals.

Renault It returned to profit after two years of losses with sales of 46,210 million, operating profit of 1,400 million and net profit of 880 million euros. The management team would rather return government aid received during the worst years of the pandemic than pay dividends. Looking ahead to 2022, they expect an operating margin of at least 4%.

EDF It issued sales of 84,460 million, profits of 18,010 million and adjusted earnings of €4,720 million. The group’s net debt amounted to 43 thousand million and it proposes a dividend of 0.58 euros per share. On the other hand, the French newspaper “Les Echos” reported that the French government is leaning towards increasing the capital by more than 2,000 million euros to strengthen the group’s balance sheet. The company announced today that this increase could reach 2,500 million euros.

Negotiations continue between Russia, the United States, Europe and Ukraine

News of armed clashes between separatist rebels in the eastern regions of Ukraine with the Ukrainian army, clashes that both sides blamed on each other yesterday, sparked great concern among investors, causing major European stock indices that started, surprisingly, the next day. Obviously, they will refuse. And the fleeting attacks that Russia and the United States have “dedicated” to the United Nations on the Ukraine crisis, As well as the evidence that the withdrawal of Russian forces from the border with Ukraine was a misguided maneuver.

Markets fear that Russia will use the clashes between the Ukrainian army and the separatist regions it supports, whose populations are mainly Russian, as a pretext to invade Ukraine, at least to introduce troops into the aforementioned region. Regions. In this sense, Yesterday, the Russian government’s envoy to the United Nations accused Ukraine of committing “crimes” against the residents of these regions. Vladimir Putin’s strategy will justify his intervention in Ukraine using the pretext of protecting the ethnic Russian population living in the country.

Yesterday, the US government proposed an immediate meeting between Secretary of State Blinkin and Russian Minister Lavrov. And although Russia accepted the offer, it postponed it until the end of next week. This gave some reassurance to investors in today’s session.

As the Alphavalue Divacons believe in it The most likely scenario is “no invasion” but with continued geopolitical tension. “In this outcome, Russia emerges stronger (Putin managed to get Ukraine out of NATO and not the EU) and would be a bad example to China (what will he do with Taiwan?), North Korea or Turkey. In such a situation, commodity price pressures will be high and volatility will lead Deep cyclical well well Inflation will be more stable and bond prices will fall, with consecutive hikes in interest rates The large financial sector will operate in the first stage, but the increase in non-performing loans and lack of access to credit may cause a recession Uncertainty and volatility will increase and money will fall , which is fear in itself. This means that low investment and consumption are important components of GDP.”

Mixed closure in Asia after severe punishment on Wall Street

Asian indices closed the day on a mixed note. The Shanghai Composite advanced 0.20% to 3,490.76, the SZSE rose 0.21% to 13,450.38 and the Seoul Kospi rose 0.02%. On the downside, the Nikkei, which leaves 0.41%, and the Hang Seng of Hong Kong, down 1.28%.

Wall Street indexes closed sharply lower. the Dow Jones Closed with a fine of 1.78% up to 34,312 points Standard & Poor’s 500 It closed at 4380 pips after leaving just over 2.12% while Nasdaq It closed at 14,171 points after leaving 2.9% in the session.

In the US, the data to watch will be used home sales and investors will wait for the words of John C. Williams, of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a member of the Federal Open Market Committee.

In the public debt market, US 10-year bond yields slightly yielded, to 1.98%, BUND is offering a yield of 0.22% while Spain and Italy’s ten-year debt is moving with returns of 1.22% and 1.84%, respectively.

the petroleum To rally around the possibility of a US-Russia meeting and also on optimism about a nuclear deal with Iran. It is on track for its first negative week since mid-December and after 8 consecutive gains. At this time, the price of a barrel of Brent crude leaves 0.60% to $92.44. West Texas fell 0.8 percent to $90.98.

In the currency market, the euro is gaining strength against the dollar, reaching 1.1369 units, while the bitcoin is declining, at a rate of -7.47%, it is trading at $40652.3.