European Stocks End Above; G7 Plan to Support Ukraine
European stock exchanges rose sharply on Thursday. Investors are following developments in Ukraine and the French presidential campaign. The DAX traded up 0.6%. CAC 40 by 1.1%. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. The war in Ukraine remains at the forefront of investors’ attention. Russia is now focusing on conquering the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine; The process, which the West suggests, could take many months. The G7 finance ministers have announced that they will provide additional assistance to Ukraine for at least $24 billion by 2022. They also added that the sanctions are already intended to have a massive impact.
In addition, U.S. President Biden is scheduled to provide updated information on the Russian invasion on Thursday, announcing another arms package for the Ukrainian military, Following the $800 million deal announced last week.
The President of the European Central Bank will take part in a panel discussion at the IMF-World Bank meeting on Thursday with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. His comments will be carefully scrutinized for future monetary policy hints, especially since the ECB Vice President has joined a growing team that recognizes the possibility of raising interest rates as early as July.
Stocks and Firms
Nestle’s stock rose 1.6% after the Swiss food group confirmed its goals for 2022. After the substantial rise in prices, it has contributed to the growth of sales of organic products in the first quarter more than expected. ABB shares rose 4.1% after the engineering company announced a big jump in orders in the first quarter. This avoided uncertainty about the war in Ukraine and rising inflation.
Oil prices rose on Thursday, which was helped by signs of strong demand from the U.S. The state of global supply is still tense. Crude oil supply info launched by the U.S. Energy Information Administration; showed a drop of 8 million barrels in the week ended April 15th. This confirms the strong indicators published in the previous session.
OPEC member Libya said on Wednesday that it was losing more than 550,000 barrels of oil per day due to the blockade. The European Union is considering a ban on Russian oil due to its invasion of Ukraine. The situation of COVID in China is still worrying. The Shanghai government maintains strict restrictions at this time. The number of cases in the city is still increasing. U.S. crude futures traded up 1.8% at $104.03 a barrel. Brent contract added 2% to $108.88. Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1951.00/ounce. EUR/USD trade increased by 0.7% to a total of 1.0928.
