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- Major U.S. indexes fall, but off their lows; Nasdaq now off just ~0.3%
- All major S&P 500 sectors red: financials off most
- Euro STOXX 600 index slides ~3%
- Dollar, gold, crude rally; bitcoin falls
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield slides to 1.92%
Feb 24 – Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
HOW MUCH CAN THE DAX FALL FURTHER? ASK THE OPTIONS MARKET (1022 EST/1522 GMT)
With a full-blown Russian invasion of Ukraine under way investors are bracing for more turbulence as the West prepares severe sanctions in response, but key question now for markets is how big is the downside potential.
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Option markets may have an answer.
Let’s take the German DAX (.GDAXI) benchmark index, whose constituents’ reliance on Russian energy imports makes it a good proxy to measure Russian stress on the Old Continent.
The strike prices of the seven most traded put options with a March expiry are as low as 12,000 points , suggesting some investors are buying protection against a drop of at least 14% from current levels of around 14,000 points.
Narrowing down to the top three traded puts, the downside potential implied by the lowest strike price falls to around 10% or more.
(Danilo Masoni)
*****
U.S. STOCKS SLIDE AS RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE (0955 EST/1455 GMT)
U.S. stocks are sharply lower on Thursday after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Nasdaq is flirting with bear market territory.
Russian forces assaulted Ukraine by land, sea and air in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Oil prices rose above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014. read more
The S&P 500 (.SPX) officially entered into correction territory on Tuesday by closing 10% below its peak reached in Jan. Now, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) looks poised to officially join in after it ended down 9.97% from its record high close on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite is flirting with a loss of 20% from its Nov. high. It now remains to be seen where these indexes will close. read more
All of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes are in the red, with weaker sectors including financials (.SPSY), materials (.SPLRCM) and consumer discretionary (.SPSY).
Here is your early market snapshot:
(Karen Brettell)
*****
U.S. STOCKS POISED FOR A ROUGH OPEN (0900 EST/1400 GMT)
U.S. equity index futures are sharply lower in premarket trade, suggesting the major indexes are poised for deep opening losses.
This, after Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, stock markets around the world slid, oil prices broke above $100 a barrel, and safe havens gold and government bonds surged in the flight to safety.
Indeed, CME e-mini S&P 500 futures are off more than 2%, while e-mini Nasdaq 100 futures are plunging nearly 3%.
Of note, the Nasdaq 100 index (.NDX) ended Wednesday down 18.5% from its November record close. Therefore, given futures’ action, the NDX has the potential to enter bear-market territory in the early throes of Thursday’s session.
With this, the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), which ended Wednesday down 18.8% from its record close, should also come under heavy pressure at the open, and also fall into bear-market territory. The IXIC last suffered a bear market when it plunged 30% on a closing basis in the February/March 2020 pandemic panic.
If the Composite ends down on Thursday, it will be a sixth-straight day of declines. The IXIC last fell six days in a row in late-July/early-August 2019. It last fell more than six-straight days when it declined nine days in a row in late-October/early November 2016. Thus, the IXIC may be stretched to the downside. Interestingly, throughout the pandemic panic bear market, the Composite saw no losing streaks of more than four days.
In any event, with premarket weakness, Nasdaq 100 futures have neared the 13,000 level. Support is at the May 2021 low (12,896.50) and the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of entire March 2020/November 2021 advance (12,873.57):
The March 2021 low was at 12,176.25. The 50% retracement is at 11,671.50.
As stands, the daily RSI is plunging to around 23, but still above its late-January trough of 17.533.
Traders will be eying action vs support and the behavior of momentum oscillators closely – click here: read more – as well as market internal measures: read more
Here is your premarket snapshot:
(Terence Gabriel)
*****
FOR THURSDAY’S LIVE MARKETS’ POSTS PRIOR TO 0900 EST/1400 GMT – CLICK HERE: read more
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Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMajor U.S. indexes fall, but off their lows; Nasdaq now off just ~0.3%All major S&P 500 sectors red: financials off mostEuro STOXX 600 index slides ~3%Dollar, gold, crude rally; bitcoin fallsU.S. 10-Year Treasury yield slides to 1.92%Feb 24 – Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.comHOW MUCH CAN THE DAX FALL FURTHER? ASK THE OPTIONS MARKET (1022 EST/1522 GMT)With a full-blown Russian invasion of Ukraine under way investors are bracing for more turbulence as the West prepares severe sanctions in response, but key question now for markets is how big is the downside potential.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOption markets may have an answer.Let’s take the German DAX (.GDAXI) benchmark index, whose constituents’ reliance on Russian energy imports makes it a good proxy to measure Russian stress on the Old Continent.The strike prices of the seven most traded put options with a March expiry are as low as 12,000 points , suggesting some investors are buying protection against a drop of at least 14% from current levels of around 14,000 points.Narrowing down to the top three traded puts, the downside potential implied by the lowest strike price falls to around 10% or more.(Danilo Masoni)*****U.S. STOCKS SLIDE AS RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE (0955 EST/1455 GMT)U.S. stocks are sharply lower on Thursday after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Nasdaq is flirting with bear market territory.Russian forces assaulted Ukraine by land, sea and air in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Oil prices rose above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014. read more The S&P 500 (.SPX) officially entered into correction territory on Tuesday by closing 10% below its peak reached in Jan. Now, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) looks poised to officially join in after it ended down 9.97% from its record high close on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite is flirting with a loss of 20% from its Nov. high. It now remains to be seen where these indexes will close. read more All of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes are in the red, with weaker sectors including financials (.SPSY), materials (.SPLRCM) and consumer discretionary (.SPSY).Here is your early market snapshot:Monitor(Karen Brettell)*****U.S. STOCKS POISED FOR A ROUGH OPEN (0900 EST/1400 GMT)U.S. equity index futures are sharply lower in premarket trade, suggesting the major indexes are poised for deep opening losses.This, after Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, stock markets around the world slid, oil prices broke above $100 a barrel, and safe havens gold and government bonds surged in the flight to safety.Indeed, CME e-mini S&P 500 futures are off more than 2%, while e-mini Nasdaq 100 futures are plunging nearly 3%.Of note, the Nasdaq 100 index (.NDX) ended Wednesday down 18.5% from its November record close. Therefore, given futures’ action, the NDX has the potential to enter bear-market territory in the early throes of Thursday’s session.With this, the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), which ended Wednesday down 18.8% from its record close, should also come under heavy pressure at the open, and also fall into bear-market territory. The IXIC last suffered a bear market when it plunged 30% on a closing basis in the February/March 2020 pandemic panic.If the Composite ends down on Thursday, it will be a sixth-straight day of declines. The IXIC last fell six days in a row in late-July/early-August 2019. It last fell more than six-straight days when it declined nine days in a row in late-October/early November 2016. Thus, the IXIC may be stretched to the downside. Interestingly, throughout the pandemic panic bear market, the Composite saw no losing streaks of more than four days.In any event, with premarket weakness, Nasdaq 100 futures have neared the 13,000 level. Support is at the May 2021 low (12,896.50) and the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of entire March 2020/November 2021 advance (12,873.57):NQcv102242022The March 2021 low was at 12,176.25. The 50% retracement is at 11,671.50.As stands, the daily RSI is plunging to around 23, but still above its late-January trough of 17.533.Traders will be eying action vs support and the behavior of momentum oscillators closely – click here: read more – as well as market internal measures: read more Here is your premarket snapshot:premarket02242022(Terence Gabriel)*****FOR THURSDAY’S LIVE MARKETS’ POSTS PRIOR TO 0900 EST/1400 GMT – CLICK HERE: read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTerence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his ownOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.