Good mood didn’t last long as the US didn’t let the tensions de-escalate insisting that Russia is certainly not pulling back its troops but is rather increasing its presence at the Ukrainian border. The US warning hit the investor appetite at yesterday’s session and reversed the earlier week gains in stock indices. As a result, the safe have flows boosted gold, again, as crude oil remained steady around the $92 per barrel. US equities were soft but the S&P500 erased a part of losses at a late-session rally after the release of the Federal Reserve (Fed) minutes, the pricing on the fed funds front flipped to give more chance for a 25bp hike in March, instead of a 50-bp hike. In the FX markets, the US dollar remains strong, while the pound-dollar is eking out gains above the 1.35 mark as the high inflation in the UK keeps the Bank of England (BoE) hawks in charge of the market. Bitcoin is pointed as a risk to the global financial stability, as Fidelity launches Europe's cheapest Bitcoin ETP. In the individual stocks, Nvidia’s strong results didn’t boost the share price in the afterhours trading, Virgin Galactic couldn’t extend Tuesday’s days on worries that they may have some execution problems sending people to the moon and Roblox tanked 26% on softer results. Watch the full episode to find out more! 0:00 Intro 0:28 Ukraine update 1:22 Gold up, but gains vulnerable 1:54 US equities fine with the hawkish Fed minutes 3:38 Sterling gains on soaring inflation expectations 4:54 Cryptocurrencies: a risk to financial stability? 6:04 Why strong results don't boost appetite in Nvidia? 7:35 Why the space travel doesn't seduce investors? 8:34 And why Roblox is not in a good place to reverse losses?
Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020.
