During the previous week, global financial markets experienced mixed dynamics. Investors were evaluating the results of global central bank meetings and macroeconomic statistics. Market optimism is supported by a strong reporting season, as the data of most companies that already submitted their reports exceeded forecasts. The number of jobs in the US economy in January increased by 467.0 thousand. Compared to 3.9% in December, in January unemployment in the country rose to 4.0%. Experts had forecast a 125.0 thousand increase in the number of jobs, not expecting changes in the level of unemployment. The US ISM Manufacturing Index fell to 57.6 points in January – which is the lowest value since September 2020, – compared to 58.8 in December. Following the meeting held on February 02, the ECB kept the base interest rate on loans at zero and the deposit rate at the level of minus 0.5%. The rate on margin loans remained at 0.25%. The ECB will continue to buy back assets under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP) in the first quarter of this year at a more moderate pace than in the previous quarter and will stop the process at the end of March 2022.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s real GDP in the fourth quarter grew by 5.9% y/y. The EC will provide Ukraine with 1.2 billion euros.

Financial markets survey 7.02.2022