Stocks pare decline amid Ukraine tensions
BNN Bloomberg
Stocks pared declines on Monday after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin he supports continuing diplomatic efforts with the West.
Stocks pared declines on Monday after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin he supports continuing diplomatic efforts with the West.
U.S. futures were little changed after falling earlier with European and Asian shares on concerns about geopolitical risks in Ukraine and inflation. Treasury yields ticked up and the dollar was little changed.
Oil fluctuated after an earlier rally.
Russia should continue talks with the U.S. and its allies on its demands for security guarantees in Europe, Lavrov told Putin Monday, suggesting the Kremlin will extend efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to surging tensions with the West.
A deterioration in Ukraine could stoke concerns about price pressures if supplies of Russian energy and Ukrainian grain are disrupted. Russia is a major producer of metals such as aluminum and nickel; it accounts for about 40 per cent of palladium, used in catalytic converters. Russia and Ukraine also account for nearly a third of wheat and barley exports.
“The impact on inflation will go beyond oil and gas,” said Wai Ho Leong, strategist at Modular Asset Management in Singapore. “For the rest of the world, it is potentially a massive food shock.”
