NewsNation Now) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures slightly rebounded Wednesday after jitters over Western sanctions on Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin’s authorization to send soldiers into eastern Ukraine.
Global stocks sank Tuesday after Biden, Britain and the 27-nation European Union imposed sanctions on Russian banks, officials and business leaders.
In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.4% to 7,523.96 and Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.7% to 14,798.01. The CAC in Paris added 0.9% to 6,845.85.
On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.8% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 1%. That put it 10.3% below its Jan. 3 all-time high and into a correction, or a decline of at least 10% but less than 20%.
The Dow lost 1.4% and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.2%. This is the index’s fourth straight negative session. It’s now more than 9% below its early January high.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9% to 3,489.15 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.6% to 23,660.28.
The Kospi in Seoul advanced 0.5% to 2,719.53 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.6% to 7,205.70.
Oil prices are also continuing to rise. After climbing to nearly $100 a barrel, Brent crude oil settled at $96.84 per barrel. That’s up one and a half percent on the day.
A major concern is that an escalating conflict could prolong turmoil in the markets just as the Federal Reserve prepares to pull back support for the economy to fight inflation.
A war between Ukraine and Russia would likely disrupt global supplies of commodities causing food and energy prices to rise and increasing the risk of prolonged period of faster inflation, high fuel prices could also weigh on consumer spending as families devote more of their monthly budgets to energy.