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London Stock Exchange: Stock price information is displayed on LSE screens in the City of London, England. Photo: Jack Taylor / Getty Images

European markets rose in positive territory on Thursday as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) blocked trading with 27 companies with close ties to Russia.

In London, the FTSE 100 (^ FTSE) rose 0.3% after opening, while the CAC (^ FCHI) rose 0.4% in Paris and the DAX (^ GDAXI) was 0.2% higher in Frankfurt.

The LSE said it was blocking trade with certain companies “in addition to recent sanctions in connection with the events in Ukraine” and “to maintain orderly markets”.

Some of those affected are EN +, Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft and Sberbank.

The move takes effect immediately and follows similar actions from other indices. On Monday, Deutsche Borse stopped trading with 16 companies with ties to Russia, while the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq followed suit.

Russian miners Polymetal (POLY.L) and Evraz (EVR.L) were also kicked out of the FTSE 100 after suffering heavy stock price losses following Western sanctions against Russia.

Read more: Russia’s Evraz and Polymetal will lose FTSE 100 status

After rebounding overnight, S&P 500 futures (ES = F) were down 0.8%, Dow (YM = F) was down 0.5% and Nasdaq futures (NQ = F) were down 1.2%. % lower when trade started in Europe.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil (BZ = F), the global benchmark, exceeded $ 119 a barrel before falling slightly, and is now rising more than 20% for the week.

It was a jump to its nine-year high, meaning the figure has earned more than $ 118 in just one week since the Kremlin pushed troops into Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate (CL = F) traded above $ 115, the highest level since 2008.

Aluminum (ALI = F) reached another record high on Thursday, rising 2.3 percent to $ 3,650 on the London Metal Exchange, while nickel rose more than 4 percent to $ 26,935 a tonne. Russia is a major producer of both metals.

Read more: How Russia’s war against Ukraine affects stock prices

Overnight, Asian stocks managed to make a profit after soothing comments from the Federal Reserve helped Wall Street bounce back.

The story continues

In Japan, the Nikkei (^ N225) rose 0.7 percent, while the Hang Seng (^ HSI) rose nearly 0.6 percent and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) lost 0.1 percent.

Rapid access to raw materials also boosted resource-rich stocks in Australia, while Indonesia was slightly above record highs.

Watch: Why are gas prices rising?

An exchanger holds banknotes in Turkish lira and US dollars at an exchange office in Ankara, Turkey, December 16, 2021.

Chagla Gurdogan | Reuters

Inflation in Turkey has risen to a new 20-year high, higher than expected by 54.44% in February as the pound continues to suffer and energy prices rise.

Consumer prices rose 4.81% from the previous month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute on Thursday. The producer price index jumped 7.22% from the previous month, an annual increase of 105%.

Record energy imports in January helped increase Turkey’s trade deficit, and commodity prices continue to rise amid fears about supplies and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Brent oil has risen 53 percent since the beginning of the year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given priority to credit and exports, while consistently arguing – against any economic orthodoxy – that rising interest rates are actually exacerbating inflation, not taming it.

The Central Bank of Turkey cut interest rates by 500 basis points from September to 14%.

The Turkish lira has lost approximately 47% of its value in the last full year as a result of Erdogan’s refusal to raise interest rates as inflation continues to rise. The turbulence of the currency hit the Turks hard as their wages fell and living costs rose sharply. Sharp increases in electricity and gas tariffs have complicated the pain for consumers and businesses.

January inflation in the country is 48.7%, the highest in two decades. In mid-February, Erdogan vowed to “break the shackles of interest rates” and reduce inflation to single digits. He blamed Turkey’s currency problems on “foreign financial instruments”.

Erdogan’s government has instead promoted “permanent lyricization” and a “rescue plan” that will guarantee the Turkish central bank’s savings in pounds by intervening and compensating for losses on pounds in pounds if their value against hard currencies falls above interest rates banks.

Analysts say the plan is expensive and essentially represents a large hidden interest rate hike and is unlikely to be sustainable in the long run.

“Inflation will remain close to these highs until the last months of this year, but the central bank and, most importantly, President Erdogan do not seem to have an appetite to raise interest rates,” London-based Capital Economics said in a note Thursday.

The dollar rose just under 1% against the pound on Thursday morning in Istanbul, with the Turkish currency trading at 14.13 for the greenback.

LONDON, March 3 – Oil prices rose again on Thursday as Ukraine’s war spurred goods that may be in short supply as stock markets fell as investors worried about higher inflation. and slowing economic growth.

Brent crude rose more than 5 percent to $ 120 a barrel and is now rising nearly 20 percent during the week as everything from coal to natural gas and aluminum rises as Western countries tighten sanctions on Russia after its invasion in Ukraine. Russia calls its actions a “special operation.” Read more

“Russia supplies about 30% of Europe’s gas and oil imports and accounts for about 11% of world oil production,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Fund Manager. “In short, investors are worried about a stagflationary shock.”

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MSCI added to Russia’s financial isolation by deciding to exclude the country from its emerging markets index, while FTSE Russell said Russia would be removed from all its indices.

Fitch downgraded Russia’s sovereign credit rating by six notches to “garbage” status, saying it was unsure the country could service its debt, and Moody’s soon followed suit. Read more

European stocks fell in the open, failing to follow the late Wall Street rally after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would raise interest rates by 0.25% this month, less than 0.5%. which some investors have pledged.

Not all investors are worried that inflation will remain higher in the medium term.

In terms of inflation, we believe that leading consumer prices are likely to peak in the next month or two, “said Mark Hefele, chief investment officer, UBS Global Wealth Management, which he said will allow the Fed to raise interest rates. at a pace that does not undermine economic recovery.

Euro STOXX fell 0.45% (.STOXX), while the FTSE 100 weakened 0.47% (.FTSE).

Wall Street futures showed a slightly weaker opening.

In Asia, the rush to commodities boosted resource-rich Australian stocks (.AXJO) by 0.49%, while Indonesia (.JKSE) was slightly above record highs.

Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) rose 0.7 percent, while MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific equity index outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.42 percent.

In foreign exchange markets, the euro fell 0.3% to $ 1.1076, close to its 21-month low as investors dumped European assets fearing the impact of the war in Ukraine on the region’s economy.

The euro and gas prices

The dollar index rose 0.2% to 97,622.

Powell warned on Wednesday that the Fed may need to rise more aggressively if inflation continues to rise.

That pulled some of the asylum from government securities, and the 10-year yield returned to 1.87%, from Tuesday’s two-month low of 1.682%.

European bonds have also turned down some of their recent huge gains after data showed that eurozone inflation reached a record 5.8% in January, making it difficult for the ECB to keep policy super loose.

Inflation was also on the mind of the Bank of Canada when it started the tightening cycle on Wednesday, raising interest rates by a quarter to 0.5%. Read more

This move, combined with the strength of oil prices, briefly lifted the Canadian dollar to a five-week high of $ 1.2554. Other commodity-related currencies also benefited from the Australian dollar at a four-year peak against the euro.

Gold stood at $ 1,923 an ounce and is still up 2% from the week before thanks to the search for safe haven.

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Additional reports from Wayne Cole in Sydney. Edited by Jane Merriman

Our standards: ‘ principles of trust.

Dow Jones futures fell slightly on Thursday morning, along with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures, as crude oil prices continued to rise. Attendance at a stock market rally showed strong gains on Wednesday. Fed chief Jerome Powell has promised to be “agile” in raising interest rates, while helping with a possible new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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Shares of SNOW collapsed overnight. A highly regarded, unprofitable cloud storage company snowflake (SNOW) surpassed views, but revenue growth slowed while its fiscal 2023 guidelines were not good enough to satisfy investors. On February 10-11, Snowflake shares tried to move above its 50-day line, but were rejected. SNOW shares can now test their lowest level since May 2021 after the IPO.

Micron Technology (MU) and Rambus (RMBS) flashes early purchase signals in the session on Wednesday while Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) is on the verge of doing so. Other games with chips close to action include Alpha and Omega semiconductor (AOSL) and Broadcom (AVGO), which reports earnings late Thursday.

Meanwhile, Apple shares have risen steadily, moving towards its 50-day line and various buying points. Apple (AAPL) on Wednesday announced a product event on March 8, with a cheaper 5G iPhone among the expected offerings.

The head of the Fed Powell told Congress that he still supports raising interest rates in March, but promised to be “agile” amid the “highly uncertain” economic consequences of the crisis in Ukraine. Powell also said he supported a quarter-point move at the Fed’s meeting on March 15-16, which looks set to take a half-point increase from the table.

Russia and Ukraine have signaled that they are open to new peace talks, but neither side appears ready to settle. Russia continues to expand its invasion of Ukraine as indiscriminate bombings increase civilian deaths in major cities. Fuel, food and other logistics remain a major problem for Russia’s invading forces, according to US defense officials. Russian troops and equipment appear to have suffered significant losses, largely due to logistical shortcomings.

MU shares are on IBD Leaderboard. Shares of Alpha & Omega and ACLS are on the IBD 50 list. Shares of Micron and AOSL were selected by IBD Stock Of The Day this week.

The video embedded in this article discusses today’s strong gains in market prices, while analyzing Oneok (OK), Mosaic (MOS) and Micron stocks.

Dow Jones futures today

Dow Jones futures fell 0.15% to fair value. S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%. While SNOW shares are listed on the NYSE, its collapse overnight caused losses in a number of other highly valued software stocks, including Bill.com (BIL) and Datadog (DDOG).

US crude futures rose 2% to more than $ 113 a barrel.

Remember that the action at night in Dow futures and elsewhere does not necessarily turn into actual trading in the next regular session of the stock market.

Join the IBD experts as they analyze the actions that can be taken in the stock market rally on IBD Live

Stock market rally

The stock market rally started again with modest movements, but turned, this time up. The head of the Fed Powell, emphasizing the flexibility and modest political movements against the background of hot inflation and insecurity in the war in Ukraine, helped maintain the action.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.8 percent on the stock market on Wednesday. The S&P 500 jumped 1.9%. The Nasdaq index rose 1.6%. Russell 2000 with a small capitalization jumped 2.4%.

Crude oil prices rose nearly 7% to $ 110.60 a barrel, reaching $ 112.51 during the day. This is the highest level since 2011.

Russia has trouble finding buyers or shippers for its crude oil and other goods, even at big discounts, raising concerns about global supplies. OPEC + has agreed to continue to slowly reduce production cuts since the pandemic era.

Yields on 10-year government bonds rose 18 basis points to 1.865% after falling 12 basis points on Tuesday.

ETFs

Among the best ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) rose 2.7%, while the Innovator IBD Breakout Opportunities ETF (BOUT) rose 3%. The ETF of the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) rose 1.5%. VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) jumped 3.3%. The shares of Micron and AVGO are remarkable assets of SMH.

The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) continued to rise, adding 3.8%. The Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE) rose 3.3%. The US Global Jets ETF (JETS) rose 1.7%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) rose 2.9%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF (XLE) advanced 2.3% and the Financial Select SPDR ETF (XLF) 2.6%. The Health Care Fund for a selected sector SPDR (XLV) rose 1.5%.

Reflecting the more speculative stock history, the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) fell 1.1% and the ARK Genomics ETF (ARKG) fell 1.45%.

Five best Chinese stocks to watch now

Stocks of chips in, near shopping areas

Shares of Micron rose 8.2% to 93.30 on Wednesday, returning above its 50-day line in above-average volume. MU shares have an official buying point of 96.60 cups with a handle. But investors could use drilling a short trend line within the handle as an early entry. The model of a cup with a handle was formed until the much longer consolidation of a cup with a handle, which had a short breakthrough in December.

Shares of Rambus jumped 5% to 28.01 at a moderately higher volume. The chip technology company ended just below the point of buying a cup with a handle of 28.32, according to MarketSmith. But investors were able to buy RMBS shares as they withdrew from the 50-day line and broke the trend line, starting at a peak on December 28 at 28.89. The line of relative strength is already high, while Rambus shares are still based. This is a bull sign and is marked with a blue dot at the end of the RS line.

Shares of ACLS jumped 7.3% to 71.59, also moving away from the 50-day line. Investors could use 71.79, just above Monday’s highest level, as an early entry. The official buying point is 75.10 of the free handle at the base of the cup. The RS line for ACLS shares is already at a new peak. Axcelis manufactures specialized equipment for chips such as ion implant systems and high energy implants

Shares of AOSL rose 4.6% to 53.39, leaving its 50-day line. The shares of the manufacturer of power management chips have an input of 59.48. But investors could use a move above Tuesday’s high of 55.73 + 10 cents as an early entry.

Shares of AVGO rose 2.75% to 585.78. The shares of the wireless chip maker and the software maker must exceed the 50-day line, with 614.74 possible early entry. The official point of purchase for AVGO shares is 677.86. Broadcom’s winnings are paid out on Thursday night.

All of these chip names have a relatively modest price-to-earnings ratio, a positive element in the current pace of growth. RMBS shares have the highest PE ratio of 43, but this is not extreme for growth stocks, especially those expected to double in earnings in 2022.

In addition to these names, a number of other chip games are not far from interesting, including Qualcomm (QCOM) and Marvell Technology (MRVL).

Apple Stock

Shares of Apple rose 2.1% to 166.56, but stopped on its 21-day line. Investors can view AAPL shares as a double-bottom base with 176.75 points to buy. Investors can use the top-tier trend line in early January to find a slightly early entry, just above the 50-day line. RS’s stock line is just below record highs.

Market rally analysis

Attempts to rally in the stock market were strong on Wednesday, with big gains in Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq prices.

However, the volume fell compared to Tuesday on both the NYSE and Nasdaq. This means that none of the indexes had the next day to confirm the new rally.

This may be for the best. All major indices are still below their 21-day moving averages, which have acted as a resistance level for most of 2022. A decisive clearing of this level would seem like the absolute minimum for investor confidence. Beyond the 21-day line, the main indices still have their February peaks, as well as their 50-day and 200-day lines as key levels, not necessarily in that order.

Russell 2000 is back above its 21-day line, but the February peaks and the 50-day camp.

The market remains extremely news-oriented. The market direction can be quickly shifted up or down based on the last title.

One positive thing: moods become bears. Only 29.9% of investment bulletins are bullish, which is below the lowest level of the pandemic collapse. Meanwhile, 34.5% are bears. When bears outnumber bulls, this is a strong sign that at least a short-term bottom is emerging, though not necessarily immediately.

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What should we do now

Attempts to rally in the stock market recovered strongly from Tuesday’s sell-off, albeit at a lower volume.

Investors could slightly increase their exposure, perhaps diverging from the energy / commodity sectors, which performed well in 2022. Unlike late January and early February, a decent number of stocks are adjusting or flashing signals for purchase.

While this article highlights shares of Micron and other chips, health insurers, cybersecurity, construction products and shipping companies are also taking shape, along with some other games in energy, mining and metals.

But until the main indexes regain their 21-day line and the market rally has the next day, you need to keep your exposure modest. The risks of downsides remain high.

This is an important time to work on your watch lists. Throw a wide network of warehouses at bases with strong RS lines. Then focus on a selected list of names that are applicable or almost so you can see as potential big winners.

Read the Big Picture every day to stay in line with market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and others.

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The voluntary withdrawal includes exclusively Fitbit Ionic smartwatch models that contain a lithium-ion battery that could potentially overheat and pose a risk of burns to consumers, according to the CPSC. The agency said the withdrawal affected one million devices sold in the United States and an additional 693,000 sold internationally.

Fitbit has received at least 174 worldwide reports of battery overheating, according to the CPSC, with 78 reports of burn injuries in the United States, including two third-degree burn reports and four second-degree burn reports.

Andrea Holling, a spokeswoman for Fitbit, owned by Google (GOOG), confirmed the withdrawal in a statement to CNN Business and said the number of injury reports was less than 0.01% of units sold.

“Customer safety has always been a top priority for Fitbit, and because of this, we conduct a voluntary download of Fitbit Ionic smartwatches,” Holling said in a statement. ”

Fitbit added in a statement on its website that its Ionic smartwatches were introduced in 2017 and production for them was discontinued in 2020.

The company called on those who own a Fitbit Ionic watch to stop using the device. CPSC said users will be refunded $ 299 upon return of the Fitbit device, and the company will also provide participating users with a 40% discount code on selected Fitbit devices.

Google has announced plans to acquire Fitbit in a $ 2.1 billion deal in late 2019 as it seeks to compete with Apple’s smartwatches. The acquisition was completed last year.

Russia is estimated to have increased its crude oil production by 0.2% in February compared to January, but is still likely to be more than 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) below its OPEC + quota, according to estimates. of Bloomberg for Russian production data.

February was the third month in a row that Russia failed to meet its OPEC + quota after falling behind in production levels in December 2021, for the first time since the April 2020 pact, which ended the one-month price war with Saudi Arabia, when COVID crippled global demand.

Russia’s production difficulties relative to its quota are contributing to an already tight oil market, which has risen above $ 110 a barrel since Russia invaded Ukraine and traders and buyers began to avoid Russian cargo, even if Russian oil did not. is currently subject to sanctions.

Russia does not distinguish between crude oil production and condensate production in its official production data. After years of debate within the OPEC + group, Russia has won an exception for not considering condensate extraction as part of an agreement to reduce production.

According to the Russian Ministry of Energy in tons converted into barrels, crude oil production in Russia was about 10.095 million barrels per day in February, which is 132,000 barrels per day below its quota for the month, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Under the OPEC + agreement, Russia’s quota for February was 10.227 million barrels per day, the same as Saudi Arabia’s. The two OPEC + leaders have the right to add about 100,000 barrels per day to their production each month as part of monthly increases of 400,000 barrels per day.

OPEC + met on Wednesday and did not deviate from its plan to add 400,000 barrels a day to quotas each month, largely as expected, despite rising oil prices amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The 19-year-old boy, who turned down Musk’s $ 5,000 offer to delete his Twitter account, recently released two new automated handles on Twitter. @RUOligarchJets and @Putinjet – after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The two profiles have amassed nearly 300,000 followers together and provide almost updates on the movement of private jets, along with photos of maps that find them. Sweeney told the Wall Street Journal that people have long told him to create Twitter accounts like this, and those requests have increased as sanctions have been targeted at Russia’s richest.

Russia’s oligarchs are facing economic chaos at home and punishment from the West after President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to enter Ukraine. The United States and its allies have responded by imposing sanctions on wealthy people close to the Kremlin.

Some of the planes tracked by the bills include Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, businessman Alisher Usmanov and Leonid Michelson, a billionaire and chairman of Russian gas producer Novatek.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Sweeney said he was stunned by the size of the planes used by Russian oligarchs.

“The planes that these oligarchs have are absolutely crazy,” Sweeney said. The richest people in the country travel on commercial planes such as the Airbus A319 and Boeing 737. “Their planes are huge compared to other planes.”

In total, the accounts track more than 40 planes and helicopters linked to Russian oligarchs. He has invited others to help increase the number of aircraft that can be traced.

Sweeney’s Twitter account to track Musk is still live. He told the Journal that he would delete it only in exchange for a new Tesla 3 model.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dramatically eased Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas. The European Union is working to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, while various European countries, including Germany’s largest economy, are reviewing their strategic energy policies in order to reduce the vulnerability of their energy security.

It is this vulnerability that has prevented the EU, the United States and its allies from imposing sanctions on Russian energy exports (for now). Europe receives about a third of its natural gas from Russia, but dependence varies among EU members. Germany relies on 50% of Russian gas, and Italy imports 40% of its gas needs from Russia. The countries of Southwestern Europe, Spain and Portugal, do not import Russian gas, but the countries of Southeast Europe and Russia’s neighbors to the west, Estonia and Finland, are 100 percent or almost 100 percent dependent on Moscow for natural gas supplies.

As the war in Ukraine threatens to cut off Russian gas supplies – either in the form of sanctions or in revenge for Putin’s sanctions – Europe has realized that ensuring energy security would mean cutting off Russian supplies as soon as possible. way, even at a high economic cost.

Providing gas for next winter should not be a problem, analysts and the European Commission say. The question is what will Europe do in the winter after that – and all the coming winters in the long run – if it wants to reduce its dependence on Russian gas and not shape its security policy or sanctions for fear of being cut off from its largest source on gas.

This winter is almost over and European storage gas is returning to the five-year range. With stockpiles recovering in the summer, Europe could run out of Russian gas next winter, according to Wood Mackenzie.

“From record lows at the beginning of winter, storage levels have returned[ed] their five-year range, albeit lower, is on track to be in a more comfortable position by the end of March, ”said Katerina Filipenko, chief analyst, Europe gas Research, at WoodMac.

Related: Oil jumps to $ 112 as Russian crude oil becomes toxic

“Our current assessment is that the EU can survive this winter safely. Currently, gas flows from east to west continue, liquefied natural gas supplies to the EU have increased significantly, and the weather forecast is favorable. “Storage gas use has slowed and we are still around 30% of storage capacity,” European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said on Monday.

EU member states must collectively ensure a certain level of gas storage in their regions and conclude solidarity agreements to send gas where it is most needed, Simson said.

“The war against Ukraine is not only a turning point for Europe’s security architecture, but also for our energy system. This made our vulnerability painfully clear. “We cannot allow a third country to destabilize our energy markets or influence our energy choices,” he said.

“The European Union can do without Russian gas next winter, but it must be united in making difficult decisions, recognizing that in many cases there will not be enough time for perfect decisions,” wrote analysts at the European think tank Bruegel in an analysis. this week. .

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has said it is changing course “to remove our dependence on imports from individual energy suppliers,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday. Germany will build two liquefied natural gas import facilities, in Brunsbüttel and Wilhelmshaven, and seek to speed up the installation of renewable energy capacity to have 100% renewable energy production by 2035.

For Europe, running without Russian gas “will require improvisation and entrepreneurship,” Bruegel analysts say.

“The main message is that if the EU is forced or willing to bear the costs, it should be possible to replace Russian gas next winter without devastating economic activity, freezing people or disrupting electricity supplies,” they said. they.

“But dozens of regulations will have to be reviewed on the spot, the usual procedures and operations will have to be reviewed, a lot of money will have to be spent and difficult decisions will have to be made. In many cases, the time will be too short for perfect answers. ”

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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