SINGAPORE- The euro was riding near five-month highs on Wednesday on Ukraine’s readiness to accept a month-long ceasefire, while stocks whipsawed on back-and-forth US tariff plans as levies on steel and aluminum imports kicked in.
European equity futures jumped 1.1 percent and FTSE futures rose 0.5 percent on news the US would restore military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine after Kyiv agreed to accept a US ceasefire proposal.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat but fragile. Australia’s benchmark closed 9.6 percent below February’s record high.
Markets in Hong Kong and China were broadly steady, South Korea and Taiwan bounced and Japan’s Nikkei held its ground after slumping to a near six-month low a day earlier.
On Wall Street the S&P 500 had flirted with notching a 10 percent fall from February’s record closing high, and finished a volatile session about 0.8 percent lower.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Wednesday, speaking in the context of a possible Ukraine peace deal, that Moscow will avoid compromises that would jeopardize people’s lives, Russian agencies reported.
The euro hit its highest since October on Tuesday at $1.0947 and was steady at $1.0913 in Asia trade. Russia’s rouble rose to a seven-month high on the previous day.
US steel and aluminum tariffs of 25 percent took effect on Wednesday – with fairly muted effect on the share prices of Asian steel mills – and drew counter-tariffs from Europe.
