Journal De Bruxelles - Stocks recoup some losses after Russia sees 'chance' in Ukraine crisis

Stocks on Wall Street opened almost flat, even if they subsequently slipped into the red, and European markets -- which had fallen sharply earlier in the session -- managed to recoup some of the lost ground by mid-afternoon.

"The tone changed suddenly... following a headline that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said there is a chance for agreement on security issues," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

In what appeared to be a possible climbdown amid raging tensions over Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin that there was a "chance" of reaching an agreement on security with the West.

"The fact that the door has not been shut to further talks... is a good thing," O'Hare said.

"Hence, the negativity seen earlier has dissipated some, yet there is still a major cloud of uncertainty hanging over the market."

Earlier, markets had fallen even more sharply after the United States warned that Russia could attack Ukraine within days.

Russia's main stock market was down more than four percent while the ruble fell against the dollar.

But even as that small glimmer of hope appeared in the Ukraine crisis, remarks by a top US Federal Reserve official that the central bank needed to accelerate the pace of interest rate increases to fight inflation threatened to dampen some of the nascent optimism.

"Our credibility is on the line here," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on CNBC.

After consumer prices saw their biggest jump in 40 years in January, he said the Fed should "front load" rate increases to rise by a full point by July.

- $100 oil? -

The Ukraine crisis also sent oil prices sharply higher amid a pick-up in crude demand as economies reopen after the coronavirus pandemic and people return to a more normal life.

In earlier Asian deals, Brent had climbed as high as $96.16 and WTI crude to $94.94 per barrel, stoking renewed concern over elevated inflation.

"Russia is the world's second-largest exporter of crude oil and the largest exporter of natural gas," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

"If Russia invades Ukraine, crude oil and natural gas prices can be expected to surge significantly. In this case, Brent would probably exceed $100 per barrel."

Europe has for months already suffered from soaring natural gas prices, which have fuelled rocketing domestic energy prices and sparked decades-high inflation.

"In the event of a Russia-Ukraine escalation we could be seeing a significant increase in domestic energy prices since much of Europe is heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas supplies," said XTB analyst Walid Koudmani.

"As energy prices have been a key contributor to the recent record levels of inflation, a further increase could spill over into the majority of the economy and potentially hinder an already fragile post-pandemic economic recovery."

- Key figures around 1440 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 34,668.67 points

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.7 percent at 7,532.39

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 2.1 percent at 15,092.66

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 2.5 percent at 6,835.50

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 2.3 percent at 4,057.87

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.2 percent at 27,079.59 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,556.57 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,428.88 (close)

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $93.82 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $92.47 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1326 from $1.1350 late Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3531 from $1.3564

Euro/pound: UP at 83.70 pence from 83.68 pence

Dollar/yen: UP at 115.43 yen from 115.42 yen

burs-spm/kjm

M.Kohnen--JdB