Stocks Surge as Russia Avoids Default on Bond Payment

Stocks had a buoyant week continuing to make gains on Thursday as Russia paid $117 million in bonds, thereby avoiding default.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes are headed towards its best week since November 2020 heading for gains of approximately 4% and Nasdaq advanced more than 5%, its best weekly performance since February 2021.

The rallies came as oil prices declined from more than $120 per barrel to the more manageable $100 per barrel range of the last days.

The Russian government on Thursday transferred $117 million in bond payments to Citigroup, avoiding the first Russian default since the Bolshevik revolution.

“For 2022, volatility is going to be the investor narrative,” Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments, told CNBC. “We would normally feel much more bullish around any single factor having a good ability to level the volatility, but given this unprecedented level of very significant factors that could drive the markets one way or another, we don’t see volatility normalizing over the next couple of months.”