Morning Report 1 Mar 22: ASX to start higher as US & European stocks hold their nerve

European sharemarkets eased on Monday. Russia and Ukraine held ceasefire talks with no signs of progress. Banks slumped 5.7% after big Russian banks were blocked from the SWIFT global payments system. Defence companies rose with German company Rheinmetall up 24.8% after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the country would sharply increase its spending on defence to more than 2% of its economic output. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.1% to end the month lower by 3.4%. The German Dax index fell by 0.7% with the UK FTSE index down by 0.4%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto rose by 2.2% and BHP lifted by 1.9%.                  

US sharemarkets were mixed on Monday. The S&P 500 banks sector lost 2.4% but defence companies were supported with Raytheon up 4.5%. The energy sector rose 2.6% in response to higher oil prices. Shares in First Horizon rose surged 28.8% after TD Bank Group offered to acquire the US bank in an all-cash deal valued at $13.4 billion. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones index was down by 166 points or 0.5%. The S&P 500 index fell by 0.3% but the Nasdaq rose by 57 points or 0.4%.

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