Despite Monday’s negative start, U.S. stock indices closed mixed at the end of the main trading session on February 28. The Dow Jones and the broad market index S&P 500 lost 0.49% and 0.24%, respectively. At the same time Nasdaq managed to go into the positive territory by +0.41%.
The trades were held against the background of the start of the negotiation process between the representatives of Russia and Ukraine, which was held in the Gomel region in Belarus. No one expected any sharp “progress” after that meeting, nevertheless, the parties came out with the words “have outlined some solutions. Probably, it was enough for investors to, at least, enter some securities.
Representatives of the military-industrial complex are the leaders in growth. Shares of Lockheed Martin (LMT), which makes ballistic missiles and has a huge lineup of aircraft from the C-130 Hercules to the F-22A Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighters, gained 6.7%.
Northrop Grumman (NOC), engaged in production of military electronics, spacecraft, building aircraft carriers and battleships for the US Navy, went up 7.9%.
Shares of BAE Systems (BA) which makes Typhoon fighters, Challenger 2 tanks, Warrior and Bradley armored infantry fighting vehicles and many other “useful” things were in demand during the trading in London.
Bank stocks were under pressure. JPMorgan is down 4.2% and Citigroup is down 4.4%. Shares of oil and gas BP are down 5%. Investors did not appreciate the withdrawal of the British company from the capital of the Russian Rosneft, which she initiated in connection with the events in Ukraine. Politics is politics, but business is business.
By the way, BP is not the only one “running away” from Russia. Oil and gas giant Shell, the oldest partner of Russian Gazprom, announced the closure of all its projects in Russia. The corporation is quitting a multitude of joint projects, the largest of which are the Nord Stream-2 and Sakhalin-2. The British valued all of its assets in Russia at only $3 billion, making it clear that it is prepared to leave with a loss, but quickly.
Russian stock exchanges did not work today. The Central Bank of Russia did not launch a section of the stock and futures markets on February 28. There will be no trading on March 1. “The operating mode for March 2, 2022 will be announced until 9:00 a.m. Moscow time on March 2,” the regulator said in a release.
The Russian ruble experienced another shock. During the morning session on the international Forex market, the national currency fell against the U.S. to ₽115. And only after the intervention of the Central Bank of Russia, which raised the discount rate to a mind-boggling 20%, the U.S. dollar began to cool down. During the main trading, the quotations fell to ₽96.
The C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Photo: militarytimes.com
