HONG KONG- Markets paused for breath on Tuesday, after days of volatility with Asian shares edging up and gold slipping slightly as investors watched the conflict in Ukraine unfold, and weighed its economic implications, notably regarding energy prices.
Global share markets have tumbled in recent days following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and western allies’ ramping up of sanctions including cutting off some of Russia’s banks from the SWIFT financial network and limiting Moscow’s ability to deploy its $630 billion foreign reserves.
High-level talks between Kyiv and Moscow last night ended with no agreement except to keep talking, but Asian markets stablized on signs of no immediate escalation of sanctions.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.5 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.5 percent in early trading.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.38 percent, boosted by financial and tech stocks ahead of a central bank policy meeting, and Chinese blue chips rose 0.5 percent.
“A lot of what’s been happening in markets is obviously overshadowed by the news around Ukraine and Russia in terms of negotiations, but the significant drivers are going to be the response from governments and central banks in terms of the policy settings,” said Kerry Craig, Sydney-based global market strategist at J.P.Morgan Asset Management.
“The markets are going to focus on the broader implications of what’s going to happen around energy prices, what that means for inflation across parts of the world,” he said.
