Global stocks unfazed as US and Russia hold talks

Global stock markets held largely steady on Tuesday as top US and Russian diplomats held their first high-level discussions since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The talks, which excluded Europe and Ukraine, ended with Moscow and Washington agreeing to appoint teams to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war.

"Donald Trump continues to be the dominant force for financial markets," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

"Trump has ripped up the playbook when it comes to dealing with Russia, and the markets are keeping the faith with the US President for now," she added.

While the Dow finished flat, the S&P 500 nudged to a fresh record following a late-afternoon rally.

"It was a mostly lackluster day until the final 10 minutes of trading," said Briefing.com. "There was a positive bias under the index surface even as major indices traded lower, which acted as an upside catalyst and invited more buying in the final moments of the day."

Europe's main markets were flat or edged higher, with Frankfurt's DAX index striking another all-time high as elections approach, with investors hoping a ruling coalition better able to act will emerge.

"There seems to be a widespread belief that a global recession will not occur and that the trade war is merely a 'residual risk'," CMC Markets analyst Konstantin Oldenburger said in a note to clients, pointing out that cash reserves of funds and asset managers have fallen to their lowest levels since 2010.

Defense stocks mostly added to gains after having soared the previous day as European leaders held an informal summit to discuss Ukraine and signaled more financial and military support ahead.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her government would announce plans later Wednesday for a "massive" rearming of Denmark's military due to the growing threat posed by Russia.

Intel surged 16.1 percent following a Wall Street Journal report that rivals Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. were considering bids to purchase key assets from the chip company.

Nike was another big winner, gaining 6.2 percent as it announced a joint venture with Kim Kardashian under the NikeSKIMS brand.

But US homebuilder stocks retreated following a survey that showed industry sentiment fell sharply in February due to worry about tariffs.

Over in Asia, Hong Kong's stock market soared Tuesday, thanks to a recovery in Chinese tech stocks.

That came after a meeting between President Xi Jinping and China's top business leaders fanned hopes that a long-running crackdown on the private sector is coming to an end.

(AFP)