FILE PHOTO: The Amazon logo is seen outside its JFK8 distribution center in Staten Island, New York, U.S. November 25, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
March 9, 2022
By Devik Jain and Sabahatjahan Contractor
(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes were set to bounce back on Wednesday after four straight sessions of losses as oil prices eased and investors snapped up stocks hammered by concerns over Western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Megacap growth stocks Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc, Meta Platforms and Tesla Inc gained more than 2% each in premarket trading.
Big banks rose, with Bank of America <BAC.N> and Wells Fargo up 3% each. The S&P 500 banks index has fallen 4.5% so far this week.
Travel and leisure stocks surged the most. Carnival Corp and American Airlines Group climbed 6.1% and 5.3%, respectively, after plummeting sharply this week as soaring oil prices threatened a nascent recovery.
Energy shares tumbled as oil slipped below $125 in volatile trading, following a sharp spike in the past few weeks that saw it breach $130 a barrel. [O/R]
Surging crude prices have rattled global markets, with investors worrying it could lead to higher inflation and slow economic growth at a time when the Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates at its March 15-16 meeting.
“We are in a period of extreme uncertainty on several fronts – Ukraine, energy, interest rates, and the economy,” said Sean O’Hara, president at Pacer ETFs.
“When you put all that together, it’s not surprising that one day you come to the conclusion that’s going to work itself out and we buy on that rumor and then the next day, everybody thinks it’s not going to work out so we sell on that theory.”
Russia said it would achieve its goal of ensuring Ukraine’s neutral status and would prefer to do that through talks. Moscow announced a new ceasefire in Ukraine to let civilians flee besieged cities, but there were only limited signs of progress.
At 8:10 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 556 points, or 1.71%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 79.25 points, or 1.9%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 318 points, or 2.4%.
The Nasdaq Composite index is in a bear market territory, down 20.2% from its record closing high on Nov 19, while the blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 index are in correction territory.
The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, fell for the second straight session.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
Source: One America News Network
