Daily Market Bulletin – 21 February 2022
Market Developments
Tensions remain high in Ukraine, but hopes of a diplomatic solution got a boost from news of a Biden-Putin meeting.
The White House announced on Sunday that US President Biden accepted a meeting with Russian President Putin "in principle", but that will occur only "if an invasion hasn't happened".
This summit is expected to take place after the scheduled meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries on Thursday, which was announced last week.
Russian Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said that "There is no invasion and there is no such plans", speaking on CBS Face the Nation yesterday. He also stressed that "Russian troops are on sovereign Russian territory". [3]
Australia reopened its international borders today, to doubly vaccinated visitors. The country's tourism sector supports 660,000 jobs and contributed $60.4 billion to the economy in 2018-19, as per the Trade, Tourism an Investment Ministry. [4]
Australian airliner, Qantas Group, expects to fly more than 14,000 passengers into the country this week, but QAN.au was soft today. Qantas releases its half-year financial results on Thursday February 24. [5]
Main Asia-Pacific stock markets were mostly cautious, whereas European futures trade higher.
Safe-havens Japanese Yen and US Dollar retreat, with main Commodity Currencies (CAD, AUD, NZD) advancing against both.
Instruments Snapshot
EUR/USD gains around 0.5 and retakes 1.1350 on improved sentiment.
GBP/USD is on the offensive above 1.3600, following Friday's slide.
USD/JPY is mixed around 115.00, as safe-havens are pressured.
USD/CAD drops towards 1.2700.
AUD/USD rallies past 0.7200, due to positive risk tones.
NZD/USD is also upbeat for the same reasons, moving towards 0.6750.
GER30 attracts buyers, trying to take 15,200 out.
US30 advances past 34,300.
USOIL is on the back foot, probing $91.00/barrel.
XAU/USD drops below 1,890, but had managed to clinch fresh multi-month highs earlier (1,908).
Economic Calendar Picks (GMT)
The week starts with a series of preliminary PMIs, notably from Germany (08:30), Eurozone (09:00) and UK (09:30).
The US stock markets will remain closed today, in observance of the Presidents' Day holiday.
See the economic calendar here.
Nikos Tzabouras
Senior Market Specialist
Nikos Tzabouras is a graduate of the Department of International & European Economic Studies at the Athens University of Economics and Business. He has a long time presence at FXCM, as he joined the company in 2011. He has served from multiple positions, but specializes in financial market analysis and commentary.
With his educational background in international relations, he emphasizes not only on Technical Analysis but also in Fundamental Analysis and Geopolitics – which have been having increasing impact on financial markets. He has longtime experience in market analysis and as a host of educational trading courses via online and in-person sessions and conferences.
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