– US indices finished yesterday’s trading lower but off the daily lows. S&P 500 dropped 0.04%, Dow Jones moved 0.58% lower and Nasdaq dropped 0.40%. Russell 2000 finished 0.97% lower
– Indices from Asia traded mostly higher today. Nikkei rallied almost 1.5%, S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.9% and Kospi added 1%. Indices from China traded mixed
– DAX futures point to a flat opening of the European cash session todayFed Chair Powell said that if there is a need for a hike bigger than 25 bp at one or more of upcoming meetings, Fed is ready to deliver
– Ukraine President Zelensky said he is ready not to seek NATO membership for Ukraine in exchange for ceasefire
– US officials once again warned about possibility of false flag operations in Ukraine with use of chemical weapons
– Russia canceled peace talks with Japan that were ongoing since World War II. Decision was triggered by sanctions imposed by Japan on Russia
– Cryptocurrencies trade higher with Bitcoin jumping above the $42,000 mark. Ethereum approaches $3,000 area
– Oil is continuing to move higher. Brent and WTI trade over 1.5% higher following yesterday’s solid gains
– Precious metals trade mixed – silver and platinum gain, gold trades flat and palladium drops
– CAD and USD are the best performing major currencies while JPY and CHF lag the most