Morning Report 24 Feb 22: Stocks remain under press as US & European investors opt for caution

European sharemarkets closed weaker on Wednesday. Investors mulled strong corporate earnings updates and the sanctions applied by Western nations on Russia in response to its incursion into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. Retailers, banks and financial services led declines. Shares in UK bank Barclays rose by 3.1% after its annual profit nearly trebled. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.3% after being up 1% earlier in the session. The German Dax index lost 0.4% but the UK FTSE index rose by 0.1%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto fell by 2.2% and BHP fell by 0.4%.                  

US sharemarkets remained volatile on Wednesday. Ukraine declared a state of emergency and the country was hit by a wave of cyberattacks. Shares in Lowe's rose 0.3% after the home improvement chain raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts. At the close of US trade, the Dow Jones index was down by 465 points or 1.4%, after earlier being up 236 points. The S&P 500 index lost 1.8% with the Nasdaq index dropping 344 points or 2.6%. 

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