Russian invasion of Ukraine rocks markets
Markets plunged Thursday after Vladimir Putin deployed Russian forces to invade Ukraine. North American futures were deep in the red when they opened as many stocks plunged more than 3%. However, as the session wore on, traders rotated out of cyclicals and bought tech, hoping that the invasion would delay the U.S. Fed from hiking interest rates. By the closing bell, many stocks climbed out of the red and into the green. The S&P finished up 1.59%, the Nasdaq jumped 3.37% and the Dow added 0.35%. The VIX had added as high as 22%, but closed down 4.55% to nearly 30.
Megatech led the gains: Adobe 8%, Amazon 4.51%, Microsoft 5.11 and especially cybersecurity stocks (amid warnings that Russia will attack Western networks) such as Palo Alto which rocketed 13.05%. Chipmakers also rallied, such as Intel by 4.64% and Nvidia by 6.09%. However, financials took a beating as Citigroup fell 4.03% and Bank of America slid 2.64%. Gold had a choppy session and closed down 0.41% to stay at $1,900, while Bitcoin rose about 2.5% to around $38,500.
Naturally, the price of oil spiked, with WTI touching $100 briefly in the morning before settling below $93 and adding 0.75% while WCS climbed 1.5% to $80.60. On the TSX, tech and industrials actually outperformed energy, though weakness by financials limited Toronto’s gains. The TSX added 0.09%. Big movers included Manulife down 2.15% in heavy trading, Kinross Gold sliding 3%, Royal Bank down 2.05% and TD falling 2.21%. Notable winners included BlackBerry which jumped 6.27% and renewable energy-maker Boralex, soaring nearly 10%. Both Shopify and Lightspeed rallied around 6.5%.
💾 Adobe Systems (ADBE-Q) +8%
📦 Amazon.com (AMZN-Q) +4.51%
Ⓜ Microsoft (MSFT-Q) +5.11%
🔒 Palo Alto Networks (PANW-N) +13.05%
💾 Intel (INTC-Q) +4.64%
💾 Nvidia Corp (NVDA-Q) +6.09%
🏛 Citigroup Inc. (C-N) -4.03%
🏛 Bank of America (BAC-N) -2.64%
🅱 Bitcoin (BTCUSD) (CRYPTO:BTC) +2.05%
🏛 Manulife Financial (MFC-T) -2.15%
🥇 Kinross Gold (K-T) -3%
🏛 Royal Bank (RY-T) -2.05%
🏛 Toronto Dominion (TD-T) -2.21%
📱 BlackBerry (BB-T) +6.27%
💡 Boralex Inc. (BLX-T) +10%
🛍 Shopify Inc. (SHOP-T) +6.5%
💾 Lightspeed Commerce Inc (LSPD-T) +6.5%
