U.S. Stock Markets
Stock markets in the U.S. make a rebound to the upside on Friday (Feb. 25, 2022) and exit Friday trading in positive territory.
The DOW rose by 2.51% or 834.92 points to 34,058.75. Over the week, this makes a minus of 0.74%.
The S&P 500 rose 2.24% or 95.95 points to 4,384.65. That makes a slight increase for the week of 0.1%
The NASDAQ rose 1.64% or 221.04 points to 13,694.62, down 0.16% for the week.
Europe
The major European indices can also go out of Friday’s trading with a strong plus.
The German DAX (XETRA) rose on Friday by 3.67% to 14,567.23. In the week, however, a minus of 3.16% stands on paper.
FTSE 100 (London) rose 3.91% to 7,489.46, down 0.32% for the week.
CAC 40 (Paris) rose by 3.55% to 6,752.43. That means a minus of 0.53% in the week.
Euro STOXX 50 (XETRA) rose 3.69% to 3,970.69. That makes a minus of 2.65% for the week.
Asia
The markets in Asia can also go with slight gains from Friday trading.
The NIKKEI 225 (Tokyo) closed with a gain of 1.95% to 26,476.50. This means a minus of 2.38% this week.
The HANG SENG (Hong Kong) closed down 0.59% at 22,767.18, a tough loss of 6.41% for the week.
SHANGHAI (Shanghai) closed up 0.63% at 3,451.41, leaving it down 1.21% for the week.
S&P/ASX 200 (Sydney) exited trading yesterday up 0.1% at 6,997.80, down 2.38% for the week.
KOSPI (Seoul) entered the weekend up 1.06% at 2,676.76. Down 1.59% for the week.
SET (Thailand) rose 1.03% to 1,679.90 on Friday, down 1.88% for the week.
What Moves the Markets
The large movements on the markets this week were certainly due to the situation in Ukraine. On Thursday, the markets had sunk into deep red after Russia had started military actions in Ukraine. The message yesterday that Russia is ready to send diplomats to Kyiv for talks has made bets on risk assets hot. If a diplomatic end is in sight after the attacks, it could bring more confidence back into the markets. Until then, the sentiment remains bearish despite the announcement of the talks.
The Ukraine situation has also diverted attention away from the essentials such as the restrictions in daily life due to mandates, the ultra-loose monetary policy of central banks that raised the inflation rate to historic levels, and the world energy crisis. All these factors will not disappear even if they are no longer pushed in the media. In the long run, we will see what impact these factors will have on the daily lives of citizens.