NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – The positive momentum in US stock markets earlier in the week continued on Tuesday, thanks to signs of easing in the war in Ukraine. A month after Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, there are signs of de-escalation between the two countries. After the most recent negotiations in Istanbul, Russia now wants to significantly reduce its “military activities” near Kiev and Chernihiv.
The Dow Jones Industrial easily jumped the 35,000 point barrier early in the trade and rose 0.97% to 35,294.19 points at the end of the trade. The market-wide S&P 500 rose 1.23% to 4,631.60 points. The high-tech Nasdaq 100 rose 1.68 percent to 15,239.32 points, back to where it was in mid-January.
In the Ukraine war, “the next few days could be decisive,” said market analyst Craig Erlam of brokerage Oanda. “The signs are promising, which is reflected in the markets today.” A Russian negotiator also hinted at the possibility of a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. The US Department of Defense, however, was skeptical on Tuesday. The Pentagon sees the Russian announcement as a tactical maneuver and warns of a new military offensive in other parts of the country.
Among the large and significant individual actions, Apple, in particular, attracted attention. The iPhone maker’s shares rose 1.9 percent to about $179 and rose for the eleventh straight day. It has recovered from the four-month low hit in mid-March to the point that it is heading towards the record $182.94 it reached earlier in the year.
Otherwise, the main focus was on acquisition projects. Health insurer Unitedhealth is looking to expand its services business with a billion-dollar acquisition. Services subsidiary Optum is looking to acquire home care specialist LHC Group at a price of US$170 per share of the LHC, as announced by Optum and the LHC. This corresponds to a total price of almost 5.4 billion dollars. Unitedhealth shares fell 0.5 percent after initial gains. The LHC Group rose nearly 6% to $166.56.
Market research firm Nielsen is changing hands with financial investors. A consortium in which hedge fund Elliott is also involved wants to acquire Nielsen for about $16 billion, including debt. Nielsen has signed a definitive agreement for a cash purchase price of $28 per share. The company’s shares jumped 20.3 percent to $26.72.
Oil prices, which continued to fall from their high levels, weighed again on oil inventories such as Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. However, they rebounded noticeably after oil prices left their daily lows and declined in the course of trading. Chevron was still among the biggest losers on the Dow, down 1.2 percent. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, at the bottom of the S&P 100, were down 0.5% and 2.7%, respectively.
The euro dipped below $1.11 in US trade. The common currency closed at $1.1087 on Wall Street. The European Central Bank set the reference rate in Frankfurt in the afternoon at 1.1085 (Monday: 1.0966) dollars. The dollar thus cost 0.9021 (0.9119) euros. On the US bond market, the 10-year government bond futures (T-Note Future) rose after initial price losses and rose 0.48 percent to 122.28 points. At the same time, the ten-year government bond yield dropped to 2.396%./ck/he
— By Claudia Müller, dpa-AFX —
ISIN US2605661048 US6311011026 US78378X1072
AXC0372 2022-03-29/22:45
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