US equities stage stunning reversal as bulls shrug off geopolitical storm

Alpari

US stock indices managed to shake off geopolitical uncertainty on Thursday, February 24, advancing in the range of 0.3-3.3%. US President Joe Biden unveiled tough new sanctions against Russia following a special military operation in the Donbass. However, the sanctions do not provide for Russian banks being cut off from the SWIFT system. The sanctions mainly target large financial institutions and a number of individuals associated with the Kremlin.

Recovery in the benchmarks was attributable to a technical rebound due to oversold instruments amid heightened volatility in global financial markets. Meanwhile, the Fed’s upcoming rate hikes serve as an underlying, negative backdrop. In addition, ambivalent sanctions could inflict damage not only on Russia, but also on the US.

Closes
NASDAQ Composite: 13,473 (+3.34%)
S&P 500: 4,288 (+1.50%)
DJIA: 33,223 (+0.28%)

In technical terms, SPX 500 CFDs continue to trade within a downward medium-term trend. Heightened volatility could urge the bulls to make a push up to 4,300, although sellers can be expected to defend this level strenuously (see below the CFD chart on the SPX 500 from MT4).

Geopolitics

Investor attention worldwide was riveted on a speech by US president Joe Biden, who announced a package of sanctions against Russia.

Corporate

Moderna Inc. shot up 15.1% after the pharmaceutical company reported robust Q4 2021 financial results.

ConocoPhillips, which offered investors the opportunity to swap four bond issues totaling $3 bln for cash and new bonds, dipped 0.6%.

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