Another risk-averse session

Equity markets came under heavy pressure into the close in Europe on Tuesday, as the Ukraine invasion continued and the price of oil soared.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces is continuing to intensify despite talks yesterday between delegations from both sides on the border with Belarus. Further talks are expected to take place this week but that’s not slowing the assault on Kyiv, to the horror of most countries around the world.

The sanctions that have been announced so far will be devastating for the Russian economy and more are going to follow. Efforts to isolate Russia are being compounded by actions from Western firms looking to sever ties, under immense political pressure. Life is about to get much harder for Putin’s Russia.

PMIs overshadowed by events in the East

There’s been a wide array of PMI data from around the world today which, as you can imagine, hasn’t attracted the kind of attention it normally would. While much of the data looks quite promising, it doesn’t take into account recent events, and being revised data, was largely priced in already.  Like much of the economic data this week, it was never likely to have any kind of significant impact on the markets, with the focus very much on what’s happening in Ukraine.

Bitcoin gathering bullish momentum

Bitcoin is continuing to perform well in the aftermath of the new sanctions on Russia, with the impression being that the imposition of them could lead to increased appeal of cryptocurrencies. Not to mention the reports we’ve seen recently of vast crypto donations to Ukraine to support their efforts. It would appear the link with risk assets has broken for now and bitcoin is following its own path. It’s broken USD 40,000 and USD 45,500 may not be too far away.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar: www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/

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