US stocks closed mixed today. The Dow Jones index, which includes shares of thirty leading US companies, lost 0.28 percent today to end trading at 43,268.94 points. However, the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.40 per cent to 5,916.98 points and the Nasdaq Composite index, which includes many companies in the high-tech sector, was up as much as 1.04 per cent to 18,987.47 points.
War
There is uncertainty in the stock market over the developments surrounding the Russian-Ukrainian military war. Investors are also waiting for Wednesday’s release of chipmaker Nvidia’s quarterly results. Shares of Nvidia, which has been experiencing strong growth recently thanks to demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, gained nearly five percent today. Shares in retail chain Walmart gained about three per cent after the company improved its full-year revenue and profit estimates.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree today confirmed Russia’s new nuclear deterrence doctrine, expanding the list of options for when Moscow can use nuclear weapons. Putin signed the decree shortly after the United States allowed Kiev to use missiles supplied by it to strike deep inside Russian territory.
Ukrainian media reported today that Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles for the first time to attack an arsenal deep inside Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said it was an attack in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. However, the downward pressure on the stock market was eased by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov‘s statement that Russia would do everything possible to prevent a nuclear war, Reuters reported.
Dollar vs Euro
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar strengthened against the euro today as tensions over the Russia-Ukraine military conflict increased investor demand for safe-haven assets. Later, however, the dollar lost most of its gains. Around 22:00 CET, the single European currency lost less than a tenth of a percent and hovered near $1.0595.
The dollar has also benefited recently from expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) could slow the pace of interest rate cuts. According to the FedWatch Tool indicator from exchange operator CME, financial markets now assign a roughly 59 percent probability that the Fed will cut the key interest rate by another quarter percentage point in December. A month ago, the probability of such a rate cut was nearly 77 percent according to the tool, Reuters reported.
Source: ČTK
