The market is breathing a little easier as Blinken and Lavrov have set up a meeting for late next week, potentially hinting that any significant military action may be put on hold for the time being.
This still doesn't erase the dour mood from yesterday, so just be wary that sentiment remains relatively fragile. But at least there are some better undertones as we look towards European morning trade.
Equity futures are pointing higher but yesterday's declines were rather steep so the recovery so far is not too profound.
In the FX space, the aussie and kiwi are still performing well after largely holding up despite the sour risk tones yesterday. AUD/USD is up 0.3% to 0.7205 while NZD/USD is up 0.3% to 0.6710 currently. Meanwhile, the yen is the laggard with USD/JPY trading up 0.2% to 115.20.
Looking ahead, economic data will continue to take a backseat with UK retail sales the notable release on the calendar. A bounce in retail sales is expected after December activity was marred by the omicron impact.
0700 GMT - UK January retail sales data
0745 GMT - France January final CPI figures
0900 GMT - Eurozone November current account balance
1000 GMT - Eurozone December construction output
That's all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading! Stay safe out there.
