European stocks rose this Wednesday (9), in the middle of the trading session, ignoring the veto of the United States and the United Kingdom on Russian energy imports, which raise fears of a new rise in prices.
The recovery was driven, in part, by purchases after last week’s major declines.
After a day of tension over the expected blockade of Russian oil and gas imports, European bourses opened higher. Part of the Asian market also recovered, but was affected by a fall in Hong Kong.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the session on Wednesday (9) down 0.30%.
The price of a barrel of oil, which was already high in January on supply concerns and expectations of a global economic recovery, has soared since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Oil is now roughly twice its price in early December.
Putting further pressure on fuel prices, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday imposed a ban on oil imports in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.
The UK also announced that it will phase out imports of Russian oil and derivatives by the end of 2022.
At 4:00 am ET, Brent crude was trading at US$130.38 a barrel, up 1.88% on the day, but still off the peak of US$139.13 reached on Monday (7).
Russia said earlier this week that prices could rise to $300 a barrel and that the country could close the main pipeline to Germany if the West blocks its oil exports.
The British stock exchange, around 5:30 am, had gained 2.2%. Earlier, German stocks and the pan-European index were also up around 2%.
Chinese stocks fell as much as 4.6% after inflation data that showed a combination of weak domestic demand and high commodity prices as coronavirus cases continue to rise, but managed to recoup some of the losses by closing 0.92% below the previous day. . In Hong Kong, where infections have surged to record numbers, the stock market is down 0.67%.
Not the entire region was affected by Chinese performance, however, with Australia seeing gains of 1.04% and Taiwan of 1.13%.
The gains mark a turnaround after another day in the red on Wall Street. The Asian market is trying to stabilize after three sessions of sharp losses that saw the MSCI index fall more than 6% to its lowest level since late September.
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