European stocks should attempt a rebound, Putin says he is open to "diplomatic solutions". The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 3,985.47 points (-0.01%), the CAC 40 at 6,787.60 points (-0.01%), the DAX 40 at 14,693.00 points (-0.26% ), the FTSE 100 at 7,494.21 points (+0.13%), the SMI at 11,959.39 points (+0.57%), the AEX at 731.96 points (+0.31%), the BEL 20 at 3,959.15 points (-0.25%), IBEX 35 at 8,493.20 points (+0.05%), DJIA at 33,596.61 points (-1.42%), Nasdaq at 13,381.52 points (-1.23%), the S&P 500 at 4,304.76 points (-1.01%) and the Nikkei 225 at 26,449.61 points (-1.71%).

On the exchange rate side, the variation compared to the closing in New York indicates that the EUR/USD is displayed at 1.1323 (-0.02%), the EUR/JPY at 130.27 (- 0.03%) and USD/JPY at 115.06 (-0.02%).

European equity markets should attempt a rebound on Wednesday at the opening, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that he is ready to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis and that the sanctions announced by the United States against the against Moscow seem less severe than anticipated. At 7:35 am, the futures contract on the CAC 40 gained 26 points, or 0.4%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 rose 79 points, or 0.5%, and that on the FTSE 100 gained 8 points, or 0.1%.

The United States and the European Union announced a series of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, including the blacklisting of two major banks, a ban on trading in any new Russian sovereign debt and the stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. Coordinated actions by the United States and the EU are no match for the package of sanctions that the West has threatened Moscow with if Russia invades Ukraine, but these measures are supposed to limit Russia's access to the global financial system. These sanctions were adopted after the recognition by Moscow of the independence of two separatist republics in Ukraine and the announcement by Vladimir Putin of the dispatch of Russian troops to these territories. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, denounced at the end of the evening "the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine".

In this context, Wall Street ended in sharp decline on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) fell 1.4% to 33,596.61 points, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 1% to 4,304.76 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2% to 13,381.52 points. The S&P 500 entered a correction phase on Tuesday after losing 10.3% since its record high of January 3. In Asia, the main markets are recovering on Wednesday. At the end of the session, the Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gained 0.6% and the Shanghai Composite took 0.9%. Financial markets are closed in Japan, where the day is a public holiday.

Yields on two- and ten-year U.S. Treasury bonds posted their biggest rise in at least a week on Tuesday as the market reacted to Russia's deployment of troops to pro-Russian areas of Ukraine. Investors remain on their toes on Wednesday as the threat of geopolitical conflict looms over Eastern Europe.

The euro changed little on Wednesday morning against the dollar, while risk aversion decreased slightly. According to MUFG Bank, this situation means that investors may have anticipated a partial invasion of Ukraine by Russia and some form of targeted sanctions against Russia by Western countries. However, the risks remain on the downside, warns the bank.

Oil prices are moving down slightly on Wednesday morning after the announcement of relatively moderate US sanctions against Russia, the CBA bank said. Around 7:20 a.m., the April contract on Brent North Sea oil lost 4 cents to $96.80 a barrel. The same-maturity contract on light sweet crude oil (WTI) listed on the Nymex fell 10 cents to 91.81 dollars a barrel.