Oslo Børs turns upwards – E24

The main index on the Oslo Stock Exchange is up 0.54 percent in early trading on Wednesday morning, while investors around the world continue to follow the conflict in Ukraine.

The crisis escalated on Tuesday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two Ukrainian regions as independent states and sent troops there. On the same day, he was given the green light to use military force outside Russia.

Several countries have responded by imposing sanctions: the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Japan and Australia.

– Most sanctions hardly have the major consequences for macroeconomic development in the West, writes DNB Markets in a morning report signed by Magne Østnor.

– But Russia is a significant exporter of both oil and gas, and accounts for about 35 percent of all European gas imports, and the biggest consequences of probably therefore get there, he continues.

Limited effects

However, these have not been the biggest changes in the market. There were significant declines in places on the Asian stock markets, but on Wednesday morning the development is mixed.

The stock market in Moscow, which plunged on Monday, turned and ended in plus on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning, the Russian RTS index is cautiously up.

On Wall Street, the central indices ended down more than one percent on Tuesday night, after being closed earlier in the week.

In Europe, the largest stock exchanges are on the rise on Wednesday morning, with the Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges up around 0.5 percent.

The Norwegian krone, which tends to weaken when the market is turbulent, has also been supported by higher oil and gas prices.

– The krone thus pulled somewhat stronger through yesterday and reversed the weakening towards the end of last week, writes Østnor.

The currencies that are considered safe havens, such as the dollar and the yen, have not strengthened significantly either, the economist notes.

The oil price (Brent spot) hovered above 99 dollars a barrel on Tuesday, and thus reached levels that have not been seen since 2014. Since then, however, the price has fallen somewhat, and one barrel is trading at 96.97 dollars at the time of writing.

Empty falls after number drop

On the Oslo Stock Exchange, the mortgage company Tomra has submitted its report for the third quarter. The company was able to point to growth on both the top and bottom lines, and announced an extra dividend. However, the stock is down 2.37 percent in early trading.

The rig company Seadrill has also delivered fresh figures, but trading in the share has been automatically stopped at the opening of the stock exchange. Wednesday is the first day on which the Seadrill share is traded without the rights to new shares in the company, which will be issued in connection with the company’s restructuring. The company also delivered a positive operating profit of $ 95 million in the past quarter.

Otherwise, Norse Atlantic has announced two new top managers. Ben Boiling will be the new CFO of the airline, while James Lightbourn will be the new director of strategy and investments. The stock is up 6.69 percent.

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