Shares Rebound But Markets Still Wary Of Russia's War vs Ukraine

Asian markets rebounded on Friday following Wall Street's surprising overnight reversal, as investors weighed the longer-term impact of tough Western sanctions against Russia after it unleashed troops, tanks, and missiles on Ukraine, Kanupriya Kapoor reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The European Commission expressing solidarity with Ukraine

European stock markets looked set to follow Asia higher even as Russia pressed its attacks and global condemnation grew, with FTSE futures adding 0.78%, European futures up 2.2%, and German stock market DAX futures rising 1.56%.

But US share futures slipped in Asian trade, with S&P500 e-mini futures losing 0.61% and Nasdaq futures down 0.92%.

Some analysts said the sanctions by the United States, Europe, and a number of other countries were not as strong as markets had feared. While Western nations redoubled their efforts to crimp Russia's ability to do business -- freezing bank assets and cutting off state-owned enterprises -- they stopped short of disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international banking system or targeting its oil and gas exports, which some analysts said had helped markets to recover.

"Biden's sanctions and reluctance to pour troops in is providing some relief. But this conflict is going to be a protracted issue and add to global inflationary pressures that will keep central banks on track for tightening," said Kyle Rodda, analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.57% by midday, Shanghai's composite index was up 0.57% and Japan's Nikkei was up 1.27%. South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index added 1.01%, recovering from a decline on Thursday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and Australian shares fell slightly, 0.44% and 0.03% respectively, after a strong start. Investors rediscovered their risk appetite overnight after some initial sharp losses, with major US indices posting gains, led by tech stocks. But some analysts worry any rallies might be fleeting.

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