Wall Street Sharply Up As Ukraine Tensions Ease

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Tuesday, as signs of de-escalating tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border sparked a risk-on session.

All three major indexes notched solid advances on the day, with market leading tech and tech-adjacent stocks providing the biggest boost and putting the Nasdaq, which gained 2.5 percent, out front.

Geopolitical heat was turned down a notch after Russia said it had withdrawn some of its troops near the Ukraine border, prompting bullish equities sentiment and causing crude prices to slide on easing supply concerns.

Stocks briefly pared gains late in the session, when US President Joe Biden said that while diplomatic efforts are ongoing.

"Nice rally today, thanks to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," said David Carter, managing director at Wealthspire Advisors in New York.

"Markets have been moving based on Putin or (Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome) Powell," Carter added. "Putin and his intentions with Ukraine and Powell and his intentions regarding interest rates."

The CBOE market volatility index backed down from a three-week high.

On the economic front, a report from the Labour Department showed producer prices surged in January at twice the expected rate, reinforcing economist expectations that the Federal Reserve will take on stubbornly persistent inflation by aggressively hiking key interest rates.

The market has now priced in better than even odds that the central bank will raise the Fed funds target rate by 50 basis points at its March monetary policy meeting.

"The market is now priced for a more aggressive Fed, and outside of geopolitics there’s reduced uncertainty," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. "But the market is never certain so you always dealing probabilities."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.22 percent, to 34,989, the S&P 500 gained 1.58 percent, to 4,471 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.53 percent, to 14,140.

Restaurant Brands International rose 3.6percent after the fast food operator beat quarterly profit and revenue estimates. Hotelier Marriott International also beat Wall Street expectations due to rising occupancy rates, sending its shares up 5.8 percent. (Reuters)