Stocks Were Mixed as Investors Analyzed Risk Factors

Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday as investors continue to monitor the situation regarding Ukraine. 

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 2% monetarily in morning trade before retracing some of those losses, eventually ending the trading day 0.78% lower at 26,910.87. The Topix index fell 0.71% to close at 1,910.68,

In South Korea, the Kospi closed mildly lower at 2,743.80.

On Monday, mainland Chinese stocks were little changed, with the Shanghai Composite flat at 3,490.61. The Shenzhen component rose slightly to close at 13,471.16.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell about 0.8% as of its final hour of trading.  

The People’s Republic of China made an important decision. The country on Monday held steady on a benchmark lending rate, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) remaining unchanged at 3.7%. 

Importantly, the five-year loan prime rate also remained unchanged at 4.6%. 

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.16% to 7,233.60.

The Straits Times index in Singapore added 0.17% as of 3:15 p.m. local time.

U.S. stocks on Friday

U.S. stocks suffered losses on Friday and notched a second consecutive losing week as the Russia-Ukraine conflict put investors on edge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 232.85 points or 0.7% at 34,079.18. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% to close at 4,348.87. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.2% to 13,548.07. Last week, all of them lost more than 1%.

Unfortunately, tensions are still running high in Ukraine. Last week, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned that the situation is at a “moment of peril.” 

On Friday, Intel was the biggest laggard on the Dow, down 5.3%. Interestingly, Bank of America reiterated an underperforming rating on the stock. 

Shares of Roku fell 22.3% after the company reported a revenue miss and issued weaker-than-expected guidance.