US stock index futures rose on Friday after reports that Russia and Ukraine may agree on a cease-fire. During a personal meeting in Moscow with the President of the Republic of Belarus Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin said that there are certainly positive developments in the negotiations with Ukraine. Many traders and investors concluded that it was a cease-fire on both sides, which is what the Ukrainian side is asking for. This caused a sharp demand for risky assets - especially shares in the technology sector. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 401 points or 1.2%, S&P 500 - 1.4%, and Nasdaq 100 - about 1.7%.

The growth in energy prices, which was observed yesterday, slowed down again, which adds to the positive markets by the end of the week. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.4% to $ 107.46, while international standard Brent crude jumped 1.6% to $ 111.04. Prices of metals other than copper have fallen sharply. Palladium futures dropped 4% to $ 2,803.50 an ounce. Bond yields remained practical after yesterday's sharp jump above 2.0%, which occurred amid expectations of an increase in interest rates from the Federal Reserve System.

Let me remind you that yesterday I embroidered data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported that the consumer price index rose by 7.9% in February - even more than expected. This is the highest level since January 1982. CPI increased by 0.8% compared to the previous month, which also exceeded estimates. Today, the focus will be on preliminary data from the consumer confidence survey from the University of Michigan. The sentiment is expected to rise to 62 points in March from 61.7 points in February.

At the end of yesterday, the Dow fell by 112.18 points to 33,174.07 after rising by more than 650 points in the previous session, while the S&P 500 lost 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1% to 13,129.96 points due to a major decline in Apple and Meta Platforms.

Despite rumors and talk, tensions in the situation in Ukraine continue to escalate. Against this background, US President Joe Biden is expected to advocate the termination of Russia's status as a preferred trading partner. More recently, Biden, in his interview, accused Russia of the fact that gasoline prices in the United States jumped above $ 5 per gallon, completely forgetting to mention 8.0% inflation and sanctions against Russia, which led to such a sharp jump in energy prices. The US Congress also passed a budget bill that includes $ 14 billion in aid to Ukraine.

As for the premarket, Rivian shares fell by more than 11% due to a weak report for the fourth quarter. DocuSign fell by 18% after publishing a weak forecast for the first quarter of 2022.

As for the technical picture of the S&P 500

Today, the bulls will again try to gain a foothold above $ 4,292, which they failed to do yesterday. If this cannot be done today, the pressure on the trading instrument will increase, which will lead to a decrease in the area of $ 4,233. The breakdown of this range depends on US inflation data, which will increase pressure on the index and return the bear market with the prospect of updating the lows already: $ 4,175 and $ 4,113. Fixing above $ 4,292 will leave hope for a market recovery. With growth, we can expect new active sales already in the region of $ 4,341 and $ 4,383. A lot will depend on the further development of the situation on the territory of Ukraine and the possible dialogue between the presidents of the two countries.