Opening Bell, February 15

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1. Geopolitical tensions have rocked assets from crypto to commodities this week.?Investors initially flocked to safe havens as fears escalated over the?prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, early on Tuesday, the?Russian defense ministry?said it was pulling some troops away from the border with Ukraine.?

It's unclear at this point how many troops Russia plans to withdraw, but the signal was enough to flip the market back to "risk on" mode, boosting stocks and cryptocurrencies, while weighing on some of the safe-havens like gold that rallied the day before.?

But the situation is volatile. Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson said a military conflict in Ukraine could?unleash a "polar vortex"?on the stock market.?

Gold?futures have lost about 1%, but are still holding near their highest for eight months, with analysts saying inflation worries have also?bolstered gold's appeal as a hedge.?

The apparent easing in tensions has weighed on the oil price, however. Brent crude is still?not far off $100 per barrel,?trading around $93.30 a barrel, but investors have taken some heart from Russia's sign that it may not escalate matters further.?

Cryptocurrencies have bounced back,?with bitcoin edging towards $45,000 again, while ether has gained almost 8% in a rally that has juiced gains in a number of altcoins, including solana and avalanche, which are both up around 10% in the last 24 hours.

2. US stock futures are up as much as 300 points.?Investors are piling back into risk assets like equities and crypto, at the expense of gold and oil, after Russia's tentative de-escalation.?Take a look at what's happening on the markets.

3. A collection of witch NFTs is catching fire among female collectors.?The "crypto coven" have surpassed $20 million in trading volume, and count Kat Dennings and Randi Zuckerberg as buyers.?Here's how five friends created the ballooning project.

4. Earnings on deck:?Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Fidelity, and Denny's, all?reporting.?

5. Goldman Sachs cut its S&P 500 year-end target to 4,900.?Analysts at the firm said the macro backdrop for 2022 is "considerably more challenging" than in 2021.?They predict that seven Fed rate hikes will weigh on stocks.

6. Russia-linked cybercriminals raked in $400 million in crypto from ransomware attacks last year.?A Chainalysis report showed that 74% of?ransomware revenue in 2021 went to cybercriminals who are highly likely to be affiliated with Russia.?The firm said it's monitoring a number of businesses in Moscow City.

7. Crypto firm BlockFi will pay $100 million to settle charges with the SEC.?Its crypto lending business, according to the SEC, did not properly register with regulators. BlockFi is set to pay $50 million to settle the SEC's charges, and?$50 million in additional fines to 32 states.

8. "Big Short" investor Michael Burry discloses new bets on Bristol-Myers Squibb and General Dynamics.?He also sold CVS Health and Lockheed Martin. Burry's Scion Asset Management swapped out four of its six US stocks last quarter —?and boosted its portfolio's value by 78%.?

9. Bank of America shared which stock market industries give investors the best opportunities at this volatile time.?These nine sectors including pharmaceuticals, healthcare technology and more —?the bank also said the undervalued energy sector could rise up to 71%.

10. Buy these tech stocks that now look cheap after last month's growth sell-off, according to Morningstar.?These 11 companies are trading at a discount, according to the research firm —?and keep an eye on these four struggling picks to bounce back this year.

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This newsletter was curated by Phil Rosen. Thoughts or questions? Sound off in the comments section below.