The first round of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks is over! U.S. stocks continued volatility, and Brent crude returned to $100

* U.
S.
stocks were mixed, with VIX breaking through the 30 mark;

* Maersk considers suspending operations in Russia;

* The international gold price rose nearly 6% in February, breaking through $
1,900.

U.
S
.
stocks were still trading in volatile trading on Monday, diving multiple times during the session.
Russia and Ukraine held the first round of dialogue, and investors continued to assess the impact of
the new round of sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States.

By the close, the Dow was down 166.
15 points, or 0.
49%, at 33,892.
60, the NASDAQ was up 0.
41% at 13,751.
40 and the S&P 500 was down 0.
24% at 4,373.
94
.
VIX, a panic index that measures market volatility, rose more than 9% to return to the 30 mark
.
In the first two months of the new year, the NASDAQ fell 12.
1% and the S&P 500 fell 8.
2%, the biggest decline since March 2020
.

On Monday, Russia's central bank raised its key interest rate to 20 percent from 9.
5 percent to boost the depreciating ruble back.

In addition, the Central Bank of Russia also announced on the same day that it would release 733 billion rubles from local bank reserves to improve market liquidity and meet people's cash needs
.

Dimitris Melas, head of index research and chairman of the index policy committee at MSCI, an index provider, said on Monday that Russian stocks were "uninvestable" after tough new Western sanctions, making removing Russian stocks from the index a "natural next step.
"
Russia currently has a weight of 3.
24%
in the MSCI Emerging Markets Benchmark.

The first round of Russian-Ukrainian dialogue ended

According to CCTV, on February 28, local time, Russia and Ukraine held negotiations in Belarus and discussed all the agendas
in detail.
After the negotiations, members of the negotiating delegations of the two sides held a press conference
.
Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the first round of talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations today was aimed at discussing the issue of a ceasefire and the cessation of military actions in Ukraine
.
The two sides clarified solutions
to some of the priority issues.
In order for these plans to be finally signed and implemented, the two sides decided to return to their respective capitals for consultations
.
The head of the Russian delegation, Mezinsky, also said that the two sides found points of possible consensus in the future during the negotiations
.
The next meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations is expected to take place
on March 2 on the Belarusian-Polish border.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday signed official application documents
for joining the European Union.
Earlier, Zelensky called on the EU through social networks to immediately open a special approval procedure to approve Ukraine's accession to the EU
.
Earlier in the day, EU High Foreign Representative Borrell said that the question of whether to accept Ukraine into the EU is not on the current agenda, and EU countries should provide Ukraine with more large-caliber weapons and anti-tank equipment for defense
.

After the introduction of the EU flight ban, shipping companies also took action
.
Maersk said on Monday it could suspend all shipments
into and out of Russia.
The Danish shipping giant will "do its best" to ensure that cargo already on the water reaches its intended destination
.
Maersk has been active in Russia since 1992, operating routes
to and from key ports such as St.
Petersburg, Novorossiysk, Vladivostok, Vostochny and Kaliningrad.
The company said last week it had stopped accepting bookings
to and from Ukraine until further notice.

Investors are focused on Powell's hearing this week

Markets are keeping an eye on the situation in Ukraine and this week's congressional hearing
by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
"The situation in Ukraine could have a serious impact on eurozone growth through energy, financial and trade channels, although it seems unlikely that the Fed will change course
at this point.
" Barclays released the report
.

Tavis McCourt, strategist at Raymond James, noted that conflict is fundamentally a "safe-haven" environment for risky assets, as global investors turn to sovereign bonds and other "safe havens" until some conclusion/new normal is priced
in.
This is all unprecedented, so the only reasonable statement about stocks is that volatility is expected to continue, waiting for a new period
.

Atlanta Fed President Bostic on Monday expressed support for a 25 basis point
rate hike at the March meeting.
He believes that the Fed needs to recover excess liquidity "as much as possible" without damaging the economy
.
Bostic said the Fed needs to take a strong and firm approach
to controlling inflation.

Brent oil returned to the $100 mark, and gold broke through $1,900 an ounce

International oil prices have strengthened sharply, and investors are worried that a new round of sanctions will affect Russian crude oil exports
.
The WTI front-month contract closed at $95.
72 a barrel, up 4.
5 percent, up 8.
6 percent in February, and the Brent front-month contract closed at $100.
99 a barrel, up 3.
1 percent, up 10.
7 percent in February
.

Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said on social media that the agency will hold a special ministerial meeting on Tuesday to discuss the impact of the situation in Ukraine on oil supplies and how IEA members can play a role in
stabilizing energy markets.
The United States and its allies are considering a coordinated release of about 60 million barrels of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with discussions currently focusing on 30 million barrels of oil released by the United States and a total of 30 million barrels released by other countries
, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussions are likely to continue for several more days, and the United States is coordinating
with other members of the International Energy Agency.
The consultations also included officials
from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other OPEC+ countries.

Risk aversion boosted gold prices
.
The COMEX gold futures contract for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed up 0.
7% at $1,900.
70 an ounce, up about 5.
8% in February, its biggest gain since May 2021
.

Bank stocks are under pressure and the military industry sector is rising

In individual stocks, the banking sector came under pressure, with the S&P financial sector down 1.
5%, with JPMorgan Chase down 4.
2% and Citigroup down 4.
4%.

Over the weekend, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada issued a joint statement banning some major Russian banks from using the global interbank communication system SWIFT.

European bank stocks underperformed, with ING down 9.
5 percent, Santander down 5.
1 percent and HSBC Holdings down 4.
8 percent
.

The military sector rose, with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman up 6.
7% and 7.
9%
respectively.
Cybersecurity stocks were also active, with Crowdstrike up 7.
4 percent
.
Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Zscaler rose more than 4%.

WedBush analyst Dan Ives believes that the reported cyberattacks have become a catalyst
for the market in the situation in Ukraine has not yet cooled.

Risk aversion, fueled by the situation in Ukraine, remained high, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield falling 15 basis points to around
1.
83% on Monday.
This partly boosted the performance of technology stocks, with Microsoft up 0.
5%, Meta, Google up 0.
3% and Apple up 0.
2%.

The new energy vehicle sector strengthened, with Tesla up 7.
5 percent and Germany's environment ministry in Brandenburg saying Monday that the approval process for Tesla plans to build a factory near Berlin was in its final stages
.
Rivian Automotive rose 6.
5%, China's new automakers performed well, Li Auto and NIO rose more than 9%, and Xpeng Motors rose nearly 4%.

Chicago's February PMI fell to an 18-point low

On the data front, Chicago's February PMI fell to an 18-month low of 56.
3 as companies were hit by shortages of labor, raw materials and the Omicron strain
.

The U.
S.
trade deficit rose 7.
1% to $107.
6 billion in January, hitting a record high for the second month in a row; U.
S.
goods imports rose 1.
8 percent to $262 billion, with strong U.
S
.
demand for imports such as automobiles and oil.
Last year, the United States posted its highest trade deficit ever, with the goods deficit exceeding $1 trillion
for the first time.

According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, the peak of the current round of the epidemic dominated by the Omicron strain in the United States has passed, and the number of new cases in the United States in the 7-day last week has fallen to the lowest level
since July last year.
The City announced that it will remove the mask rule
in restaurants and entertainment venues starting March 7.