The dollar, oil and gold are the biggest beneficiaries, and strong declines in the digital currency and stock markets
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a speech to the Russians that he had decided to carry out a special military operation in Donbass, Ukraine. He stated that the current circumstances require us to act decisively and immediately, stressing that his plans do not include the occupation of Ukraine, but rather the disarmament of it.
The Moscow Stock Exchange suspended trading completely with these circumstances, while Ukraine announced the imposition of martial law throughout the country.
These statements and the start of the military operation with the news of clashes and explosions heard in the capital, Kiev, and other cities ignited global markets, where safe havens rose strongly, while currencies and high-risk assets were damaged.
The US dollar is one of these safe havens, as the general index of the US dollar has risen by about 0.50% since the beginning of the session and is trading at 96.65 levels, while the major currencies are declining affected by this rise, with the exception of the Japanese yen, which is treated as a safe haven at these times, as it is trading at a rise of about 50 points at levels 114.60 .
The flame or the yellow metal, which is considered one of the most important havens and safe assets in the markets, is recording increases by more than 2%, and it is currently trading at levels of 1945 dollars per ounce, while silver gains exceed about 1.5%, trading at levels of 24.90, the highest level in three months.
US stock futures contracts in the futures before the opening of today’s session recorded a strong loss, as the Dow Jones lost about 700 points, while the Nasdaq index fell more than 350 points.
Oil markets, in turn, ignited, as Brent crude and US crude recorded gains of more than 4.5% after Brent crude exceeded $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, while US crude (NYMEX) is trading above $96 a barrel.
The cryptocurrency market, in turn, has incurred strong losses and liquidity exits since the beginning of the session, as Bitcoin is trading at levels of $35,000, down by about 7.7%, while Ethereum is down by about 10%, trading at levels of $2,300.