Asian markets went down today after tension in Ukraine escalated due to reports of Russia occupying parts of the Crimea. This movement was exacerbated by a surge in the yen, a currency used as a safe haven asset by many traders, which lead to a drop in the Nikkei as the overseas earnings of Japanese companies declined. In addition, Chinese factory data revealed a contraction in the manufacturing sector of the world’s second largest economy – hurting not only Chinese equities but also Australian mining stocks, which rely heavily on raw materials exports to the Asian giant. As a result of these unfortunate events, the Nikkei closed down 1.27%, the Hang Seng closed down 1.47%, and the ASX 200 closed down 0.38%.
European markets also took a significant hit due to the situation in the Ukraine – ignoring better than expected manufacturing data from Germany and other nations within the Eurozone. Though investors do not necessarily believe the conflict will escalate, rhetoric in support of sanctions from EU foreign ministers and US Secretary of State John Kerry have worried them enough to reduce their holdings in the event of further turmoil. Stocks and assets connected to Russia in any way have faced the most downward momentum. At closing, European Indices showed substantial drops, with the Stoxx 50 closed down 3.02%, the FTSE closed down 1.49%, and the DAX closed down 3.44%.
American markets were not immune from the tension in Eastern Europe despite being an ocean away. US Indices today faced the biggest decline in the last four weeks as investors continued selling off equities in the American session. Further complicating the situation was better than expected US ISM Manufacturing PMI data, which could give the Federal reserve the ammunition it needs to justify to tapering the stimulus further this month. Despite these fears, many see this as a buying opportunity given the market’s track record over the previous year. Right now, the Dow is down 0.94%, the S&P is down 0.74%, and the Nasdaq is down 0.72%.
March 3, 2014 – Indices News
Asian markets went down today after tension in Ukraine escalated due to reports of Russia occupying parts of the Crimea. This movement was exacerbated by a surge in the yen, a currency used as a safe haven asset by many traders, which lead to a drop in the Nikkei as the overseas earnings of Japanese companies declined. In addition, Chinese factory data revealed a contraction in the manufacturing sector of the world’s second largest economy – hurting not only Chinese equities but also Australian mining stocks, which rely heavily on raw materials exports to the Asian giant. As a result of these unfortunate events, the Nikkei closed down 1.27%, the Hang Seng closed down 1.47%, and the ASX 200 closed down 0.38%.
European markets also took a significant hit due to the situation in the Ukraine – ignoring better than expected manufacturing data from Germany and other nations within the Eurozone. Though investors do not necessarily believe the conflict will escalate, rhetoric in support of sanctions from EU foreign ministers and US Secretary of State John Kerry have worried them enough to reduce their holdings in the event of further turmoil. Stocks and assets connected to Russia in any way have faced the most downward momentum. At closing, European Indices showed substantial drops, with the Stoxx 50 closed down 3.02%, the FTSE closed down 1.49%, and the DAX closed down 3.44%.
American markets were not immune from the tension in Eastern Europe despite being an ocean away. US Indices today faced the biggest decline in the last four weeks as investors continued selling off equities in the American session. Further complicating the situation was better than expected US ISM Manufacturing PMI data, which could give the Federal reserve the ammunition it needs to justify to tapering the stimulus further this month. Despite these fears, many see this as a buying opportunity given the market’s track record over the previous year. Right now, the Dow is down 0.94%, the S&P is down 0.74%, and the Nasdaq is down 0.72%.
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