MeritKapital News

US Stock futures went up as market participants weighed the risk from the continued rise in commodity prices due to the ongoing Russia/Ukraine conflict. S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% while Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 0.6%. Demand for haven assets like USTs and Gold dwindled as the yield on 10-year Treasuries was stable at 1.85%…

Concerns over the rising costs of commodities and its effects on inflation sent prices of US Stocks and futures southward. S&P 500 futures fell 1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.2%. Nickel prices have risen by 111% to $101,365 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Crude Oil prices continued to go up with WTI…

US and European partners are now considering banning Russian oil and natural gas imports. The Brent crude rose 9.9% from $118 to $126. Brent hit a high of $139, the highest since 2008. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 4,340 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7% on Friday. The UST 10Y yields rose to 6pbs from…

During the second round of negotiations, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement to open humanitarian corridors to let civilians leave the zone of conflict. RUBUSD was up on the news from 117 to 104-106 levels. MICEX remains closed today and has not opened since the beginning of the invasion. After a conversation with Putin on…

CBR introduced today a 30% brokerage commission for buying foreign currency to hold back a further collapse of the rouble. Despite of these measures, RUBUSD has fallen from 109 to 117. MICEX remains closed in the last three days. Global ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s downgraded the Russia’s sovereign credit rating to “junk”, citing the…

Russia will spend part of the National Wealth Fund on buying up shares of Russian companies that have collapsed. The Ministry of finance ordered to allocate up to 1 trillion roubles for these purposes. Although MICEX was closed for a second straight day yesterday, Russian stock market was battered by steep declines again, as shares…

CBR moratorium on Russian securities transactions for foreign individuals and legal entities will kick in today. This ban followed restrictions on the sale of securities on behalf of non-residents. These and other CBR restrictions are aimed at limiting the outflow of capital from Russia. Russian residents are now banned from transferring foreign currency to their…

Dramatic developments in Russia -Ukraine conflict over the weekend, including Russia putting nuclear missiles on high alert, have led to the introduction of unprecedented sanctions on Russia by US and European allies. Fresh Western penalties further isolate Russia from global financial system and prevent Russian Central Bank form using its foreign reserves to counteract the…

Russian stocks markets and rouble rebounded as the sanctions from UK, Europe and US turned out to be less severe. The benchmark MOEX index surged 22% after losing 46% the day before, while rouble strengthened by 5% to 82.86. Russia’s 5-year CDS still quite high at 917. The US sanctions were the toughest yet on…

Russian forces started a full-scale military operation in Ukraine. This took markets by surprise. In a televised address Putin stated that Russia had no plans to occupy but demilitarize Ukraine. Russian forces attacked cities across Ukraine and landed troops on its south coast. Haven assets including US treasuries rallied, with interest rate hike risks overshadowed…