Stocks are down about 1%, and oil prices are jumping

However, some of that confidence faded on Wednesday after Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose again. Brent crude futures were recently traded at $120.85 a barrel, up 4.7%.

Oil prices rose after Russia said on Tuesday that oil exports via a pipeline extending from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea may fall temporarily At about 1 million barrels per day – representing about 1% of global oil demand – indicating storm damage. Russian officials have said the repairs could take up to two months.

“Things will remain highly sensitive to current events in Ukraine,” said Susanna Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, noting that sharp moves in energy prices will continue to weigh heavily on indices. “There is still real pressure on oil prices, adding to inflationary concerns.”

goods They gravitate higher across the board about a host of problems that threaten to narrow supply chains. Comex Copper stock rose 1.6% to $4.76 a pound, its fifth-highest close ever, and put it up 6.9% for the year, according to market data from Dow Jones going back to 1988.

Aluminum, nickel and steel prices also rose on concerns ranging from the war in Ukraine to the Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Tangshan, the largest steelmaking city in China, Tell residents to stay home According to Reuters. London commodities broker SP Angel said in a note on Wednesday that the city accounts for 58% of China’s steel sector production.

“Inflation continues to be an 800-pound gorilla,” said Doug Sandler, global head of strategy at Riverfront Investment Group. The concern, he said, is that higher prices will force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates faster than investors previously expected.

Mr. Sandler said his company began reducing its stock balances earlier this year amid concerns about a riskier and more uncertain environment in the United States and the global economy. The hope, he said, is that the supply chain issues that have raised prices for everything from corn to copper will work themselves out in the coming months, reducing the need for sharply higher rates on federal funds.

The rise in US government bond yields has paused. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.332% in recent trading, from 2.375% the day before. US government bond yields rose this week after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank is ready Raise interest rates in steps of half a percentage point If necessary to tame inflation. Yields rise when bond prices fall.

Stock market in Russia Set to partially reopen on Thursday, nearly a month after trading closed after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Investors and analysts predict that the reopening could push Russian stocks into freefall.

In recent days, global markets appeared to have crossed the curve, despite concerns about it soaring inflation The war in Ukraine. The S&P 500 rose above its 200-day moving average on Tuesday after falling below it on February 17. The benchmark has advanced 1% or more in five of the past six sessions, lifting it 8.1% over that period and erasing everything. Of the losses that have occurred since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Major indices in Europe and Asia saw similar moves.

The latest march came even as Russia launched attacks on Ukraine IntensificationWestern countries Penalties continue to pile up Pricing pressures are showing no signs of abating. On Wednesday, new data on inflation showed that UK consumer prices It rose 6.2% in February from a year earlier, up from 5.5% in January, marking the highest rate since March 1992.

Fari Hamzei, of Hamzei Analytics, said the recent bounce in stocks came in lower volumes, suggesting it could be a so-called bear market rally. He’s looking for a few days of significant declines in which 90% of NYSE stocks are down, which indicates a buying opportunity.

He said, “We have not seen a surrender.” “You need volume to confirm price action.”

A sharp rise in oil prices could lead to such a drop. Mr. Hamza expects the price of West Texas Intermediate crude, which traded at around $114 a barrel on Wednesday, to rise to between $135 or $145 a barrel. He said a significant escalation of the conflict in Ukraine could push investors out of stocks.

In European markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 closed 1% lower, erasing earlier gains once oil prices rose strongly. The FTSE 100 index in London was down 0.2%.

In the middle of the New York trading day, energy stocks were also higher.

Occidental PetroleumAnd the

ExxonMobil

And the

chevron

Both gain about 0.8% to 1.6%.

Rising oil prices could spark more Consumer interest in electric carsAnalysts said. shares

Tesla

It was up about 0.6% in early afternoon trade. The stock has risen on each of the past seven trading days, its longest winning streak since August 2021, lifting the electric car maker more than 30% in that time period.

Meanwhile, he shares Mimi stock –Which has greatly decreased this year– I enjoyed life back. shares

Jim Stop

It jumped 10% after the company’s president, Ryan Cohen, revealed it His company bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock on Tuesday. shares

AMC Entertainment HoldingsAnd the

Which tends to move in relation to GameStop, jumped 14%.

shares

Adobe

It declined by 9.6%. The software company on Tuesday reported higher earnings and better-than-expected revenue growth, but said it expected a hit in annual revenue from the war in Ukraine.

There were other signs on Wednesday that investors were eyeing the assets they saw as safer. The ICE US dollar index, which measures the currency against another basket, rose 0.2% in recent trading. Gold prices rose 0.4%.

In Asia, the major indices closed higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 3%. China Shanghai Composite advanced 0.3%.

—Georgi Kanchev contributed to this article.

Write to Caitlin McCabe at [email protected] and Scott Patterson at [email protected]