 The markets are surprisingly calm despite some initial volatility on escalation in Russia Ukraine situation. News of sanctions on Russia are staying to flow out, with the UK sanctioning five Russians banks and three individuals. Germany also put the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on hold. But there are just very little reactions in the markets. Major European indexes are mixed in very tight range while DOW futures are just slightly down. Yields of benchmark treasuries are indeed rising. Gold is hovering around 1900 handle after initial rally lost momentum. WTI crude oil also retreats quickly after breaching 95.98 resistance very briefly. In the currency markets, Kiwi and Aussie are currently the strongest ones. Euro is following closely with help from rally in German yields. Sterling remains the worst performing, but Swiss Franc and Yen are also weak. Dollar and Loonie are mixed in between. At the time of writing, FTSE is up 0.24%. DAX is down -0.31%. CAC is down -0.03%. Germany 10-year yield is up 0.070 at 0.278. Earlier in Asia, Nikkei dropped -1.71%. Hong Kong HSI dropped -2.69%. China Shanghai SSE dropped -0.96%. Singapore Strait Times dropped -1.04%. Japan 10-year JGB yield dropped -0.0108 to 0.198. | 
