The Unfortunate Reason Why It Could Be An Ugly Day In The Markets
Markets are currently selling off around the world. U.S. futures are in the red, European markets are down by nearly 1%, and Asia closed sharply lower with Japan's Nikkei plunging 2.9%.
"Risk aversion rules: The Ukraine conflict shows no sign of being resolved (rather, there's far too high a chance of escalation for comfort)," said Societe Generale's Kit Juckes. "Overnight, the US has approved limited airstrikes in Northern Iraq. The conflict on Gaza too, is in danger of re-escalation. Investors have plenty of reasons to take risk off the table and are doing so across the board."
None of these geopolitical concerns are coming out of nowhere. Indeed, they've been brewing for much of the year, even as the S&P 500 touched its all-time high of 1,991 on July 24.
However, a slew of economic data during much of the summer has had investors and traders distracted.
This week, it's been particularly quiet on the economic calendar, which has allowed everyone to focus on the geopolitical turmoil. The S&P is down 1% in the past four days.
And those conditions are unlikely to change today.
"Today, with a very thin economic calendar, at any rate, [the selling] is likely simply to continue," said Juckes.