How stocks reacted to Russia-Ukraine peace talks

Stocks mostly rose, and oil declined on Monday on hopes for progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks even as fighting continued across Ukraine, while bond markets braced for rate rises in the United States and the U.K. this week.

Russia attacked a large Ukrainian base near the border with Poland on Sunday. However, Ukraine and Russia gave their most upbeat assessment yet of prospects for talks. 

Besides, just the chance of peace saw S&P 500 stock futures gain 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures advanced 0.4%. EURO STOXX 50 futures added 0.5% and FTSE futures gained 0.2%.

Japanese stocks rose while Chinese stocks declined on Monday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 4.97% to end its trading day at 19,531.66, leading to losses among the region’s major markets.

Tencent dropped 9.79%, Alibaba fell 10.9%, and Meituan declined 16.84%. The Hang Seng Tech index fell 11.03% to 3,778.60.

As previously mentioned, mainland Chinese stocks fell on Monday. The Shanghai Composite dropped 2.6% to 3,223.53. The Shenzhen component declined 3.083% to close at 12,063.63.

The world’s second-largest economy is trying to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. It is currently undergoing a wave of Covid-19 infections, its worst outbreak since China clamped down on the pandemic two years ago. 

Shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, declined 0.97%. Its shares fell 0.97% as the company announced on Monday it suspended operations in Shenzhen city to comply with local Covid-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Taiex ended the trading day little changed at 17,263.04. 

In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.85%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.58% to close at 25,307.85. The Topix index added 0.71% to 1,812.28. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia advanced 1.21% to 7,149.40.

Russia’s central bank and stocks 

Russian stocks suffered severe losses after Russia invaded Ukraine. Last week, the country’s central bank made an important announcement. The bank said it is extending the suspension of stock trading on the Moscow Exchange to Friday this week.