Tuesday Starts With Low Volatility and No Macro Data

There seem to be no new developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, with peace talks seemingly at a dead-end (as per remarks from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy over the weekend) and Russia kicking off its offensive in the east.

“We always have said with President Macron that we want an embargo on Russian oil,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday. 

He added, “an embargo on Russian oil is in the works.” Le Maire further said that he hopes “that we will convince our European partners to stop importing Russian oil in the weeks to come.” However, several days ago, Germany said that step would cause a severe recession in the country, therefore leading to a severe recession in the eurozone. 


Later today, US building permits and housing starts for March are due, expected to see a slight decline monthly amid rising mortgage rates. 

The overall trends in the markets remain the same - expectations for an aggressively hawkish Fed are pushing the US yields higher, benefiting the US dollar. As a result, the EURUSD pair traded below 1.08 today for the first time since March 2020. At the same time, the dollar index rose to 101, the highest level since March 2020 as well.

Stocks continue to be under pressure due to rising yields and the strengthening US dollar, pushing the Nasdaq 100 tech index below the 14,000 USD threshold again. In Europe, it also looks like the recent rally off March lows has run out of steam.