Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on February 28, 2025
(Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is leaving the White House early on Friday after a contentious Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, a White House official said.
Zelenskiy is "not ready for Peace if America is involved," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday, following a contentious meeting between the leaders in the Oval Office.
"I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” Trump said.
The S&P 500 briefly dipped then rallied back to close 1.5% higher at 5,954.50. The euro extended a slight loss and was off 0.24% at 1.0372. In European stock futures, the Dax and CAC40 futures fell 0.6% and the Eurostoxx 50 futures dropped as much as 1.4% and were last down 0.8%.
COMMENTS:
JOSÉ TORRES, SENIOR ECONOMIST, INTERACTIVE BROKERS, GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT
“Twice today we saw traders come in and defend the pivotal 5840 level on the S&P, a figure that corresponds to a 5% drawdown from the peak. The first time was after monthly consumer spending posted its sharpest month-over-month decline in four years, then the index bounced back. The heated exchange between Trump and Zelenskiy took it down even further, to about 5837, at which point traders stepped in. People are seeing any broad-based drawdown as a reason to come in and buy the dips. Also, right now, the bar is pretty high when it comes to trying to startle markets. We’ve had wild swings on a number of fronts, including geopolitical incidents like this one. So folks are braced for these intraday swings. Ultimately, the market is hoping for peace between Ukraine and Russia, but how that gets done will be pivotal. Anything too one-sided favoring Moscow would be a market negative.”
CAROL SCHLEIF, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, BMO PRIVATE WEALTH, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
“Markets will continue to be more focused on tariff policy – how much, who, when – and what it implies for business activity and consumers spending and confidence. Most U.S. investors (and voters) pay attention to what hits the pocket book closer to home and Russia/Ukraine has been just one of many global considerations on the edges for a very long time.”
“On the other hand, European markets could be more impacted given it would seem increasingly clear that Ukraine’s defense and/or dealing with Russia will be left to them”
ADAM SARHAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, 50 PARK INVESTMENTS, NEW YORK
"The market initially sold off because it was a heated and contentious conversation, which is not usually a good thing between two leaders of the world, especially when it has to do with a war. The news, if you watched it live, it was pretty worrisome. It got heated, and Zelenskiy is considered an ally of the U.S... That's why the market sold off, but then cooler heads prevailed. Zelenskiy either is going to make a deal or he's not, and Trump is offering him a deal. He could walk out and they could have a deal next week. But does this mean the market is going to get crushed? No. Nothing has really changed... But the market is under a lot of pressure. All of the post-election gains have been erased. That’s a big sign. And the growth stocks that were leading the market higher over the last several months have now turned lower, and there's a big concern as we go into the weekend that there's going to be the tariffs coming back for Canada and Mexico."
MARSHALL FRONT, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, FRONT BARNETT, A MERISOW COMPANY, IN CHICAGO
“As an investor you have to wait and see what the outcome is , rather jump to some conclusion. Trump desperately wants to get something done, Zelenskiy wants to get something done, and Putin does too. The question is, where will that settle? We don’t know. The reaction in the market was predictable, when people started to see this show, market sold off. Now that Zelenskiy has left the WH it’s settled.”
"On Trump’s pivot on Ukraine policy: “It’s created a lot of uncertainty, on this issue. And uncertainty is something markets abhor. They (Investors) are trying to see, without a lot of information, where things are going.”
SPENCER HAKIMIAN, CEO, TOLOU CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK
"This is terrible and very risk off, but it’s very bullish for European defense manufacturers, as they’ll need to arm themselves via domestic producers. We bought those stocks in January for the first time ever."
RICK MECKLER, PARTNER, CHERRY LANE INVESTMENTS, NEW VERNON, NEW JERSEY
"I don't think it hurt the market so much because of what he had to say, but the unconventional nature of it raised the issue for investors of how unpredictable and uncertain the Trump administration can be. The market likes certainty. It likes a plan. There are so many things happening in this government at once - all of which are to some extent groundbreaking - and this just added one more feature to it. So that's where the market (took a) leg down a little bit, thinking this is just a sign of a lack of predictability and more traditional approaches to diplomacy."
DAVID WAGNER, HEAD OF EQUITIES AT APTUS CAPITAL ADVISORS IN FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA
“The S&P 500 is starting to see its first pullback of 2025. On the surface, the S&P is -5% off the highs, but there’s been dramatic moves underneath the hood of the index. The point here is: much of the motion looks driven by “positioning unwinds” versus “fundamental distress”. And looking at this past quarter's earnings season helps us validate that thought, as the spread between the Mag 7 and remaining 493 earnings saw its most narrow gap since Q1 2023.
"But, now that earnings season is essentially over now that NVDA is behind us, I'd expect a lot of policy out of Washington DC to dictate some near term volatility in the market. “
JACK MCINTYRE, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, BRANDYWINE GLOBAL, PHILADELPHIA
"It’s disturbing, but maybe this is part of Trump’s way of negotiating … A big driving force of markets now is uncertainty on a lot of different levels, and this is just another part of that. It looked like we were moving towards progress on a peace deal or a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and maybe now that gets to come on hold, so you have to price in a little bit more uncertainty. We’re not doing anything, we’re going to let the dust settle."
(Compiled by the Global Finance & Markets Breaking News team)
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