Sentiment Deteriorates After Putin's Announcement; Fed in Focus

Regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Russia's Putin has declared a partial mobilization in his country, saying the West doesn't want peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Central banks in focus

In the upcoming 48 hours, the US Federal Reserve will be the first central bank to declare its monetary policy decision, albeit it won't be the only one. The three central banks that matter most for the markets after the Fed are the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, and the National Bank of Switzerland.

Following last week's hotter-than-anticipated US inflation report, it is generally predicted that the Fed will raise interest rates by at least 75 basis points, while some are pricing in a 100 bps increase as well.

In other news, after the European Chamber of Commerce, a leading business organization, expressed concerns about China's viability as an investment destination in light of ongoing COVID-related disruptions, China's blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index dropped by almost 1%. In comparison, the Shanghai Composite index dropped by 0.5%.

The industry group's warning comes after a string of COVID lockdowns this year have slowed China's economic development and hampered operations for a number of international businesses doing business there.