Volatile market continues following failed peace talks between Russia and the Ukraine

Global indices were choppy overnight, mainly finishing lower on the back of failed peace talks and Russia continued advances in Ukraine. According to reports from the French government, the Russian president Vladimir Putin intends to take the country by any means and that “the worst is to come”. The reports sent the FTSE 100 down 2.57%. The decline was further aided by the removal of Russian equities from the index. In addition, the DAX followed dropping 2.16%.

In the USA the NASDAQ closed down 1.56% as the tech sector saw more selling. The FANG stocks were all down continuing from what has been a volatile week. The Dow Jones and the SP500 performed a little better but were still up and down during the trading session. Overall, the S&P500 finished down 0.53% and the Dow Jones 0.29% respectively.

Money continues to flow into commodities as pressure is growing for Western countries to ban Russian oil and gas imports. Gold continues to provide strength in the volatile market holding $1936 USD per ounce. Oil touched $119 USD a barrel before tapering to $110. Nickel was also a strong mover jumping 6% to $27,815 its highest level since April 2011. Wheat continued its rise another 5.46%.

Palladium, another commodity in which Russia is a large producer, is also up 3.2% to $2,753.68 by 12.43 GMT. Palladium is a crucial metal needed by Automakers for catalytic converters to curb emissions. Iron Ore showed some strength increasing by 5.5% to $153USD per tonne.

In currencies, the BTC/USD pair lost momentum at $42,541 USD down 3% at 10.45 pm GMT. Ethereum is also down 4.48% over the last 24 hours. The EUR/USD fell to fresh levels of 1.1032 its lowest level since May 2020.

The markets remain volatile and very reactive to news coming out of Europe as the weekend approaches.