- As dip-buyers leaned into expectations that weeks of market gyrations had priced in the economic impact of the conflict in Ukraine, Asia stocks joined a global equities comeback on Thursday. The price of oil has stabilised after a steep drop.
- At the outset, Japanese equities rose as much as 3%, while indices in China, Hong Kong, and Australia rose. Futures in the US swung back and forth between red and green as benchmark indices in the US and Europe posted their best single-day advances since 2020.
- In late trading, Amazon jumped more than 10% as the online retailer announced a share split and $10 bln buyback plan, which will help it clear a major obstacle on its way to being included in the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average. Rio Tinto, a mining behemoth, announced this morning that it has joined the ranks of multinationals boycotting Russia in the aftermath of the country's invasion of Ukraine.
- The raging commodity market advances have come to a halt, though oil has recovered from overnight losses to trade slightly below $110 per barrel. The UAE has announced that it will want the OPEC+ partnership to increase oil output more quickly, a remarkable reversal that could pit the country against its peers. After dropping from a 19-month high, gold has maintained its losses.
- The dollar rose after falling due to greater risk appetite, while the yen fell to a five-year low against the greenback. The yield on a 10-yr Treasury bill was around 1.94%.
