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London - Following are five big themes likely to dominate the thinking of investors and traders in the coming week.
1) Ukraine standoff
The prospect of sanctions against Russia being approved as soon as Monday, after a referendum on Crimea's reunification with Russia, is likely to set a gloomy backdrop for financial markets in the coming week.
Russian assets have already been hammered as investors pull out, and emerging markets more broadly are on the back foot.
Some are warning that a prolonged standoff over Ukraine could take a toll on Russian growth.
2) Still under the cosh
Worries over economic slowdown in China have also contributed to the wariness in markets.
Beyond the "big picture" themes of Ukraine and China, domestic political concerns are hanging over the likes of Turkey and South Africa.
This is even prompting some local investors to pull money out of emerging markets and seek more liquid and stable investments elsewhere.
3) Seeking shelter
The yen and the Swiss franc, traditional safe havens in turbulent times, have been the main beneficiaries from the turmoil over Ukraine.
Some have cited the threat of US sanctions undermining the dollar in favour of the "non-aligned" franc.
The euro has done pretty well too, hitting a 2 1/2-year high versus the dollar before European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said the exchange rate had a significant impact on low inflation and reiterated that the bank was ready to act to combat the threat of deflation.
4) Slowly does it
The Federal Reserve's policy meeting in the coming week will be watched for any detail on how far and how fast interest rates will rise once the US central bank embarks on its tightening cycle.
Policymakers have been keen in recent weeks to stress that rates will go up only gradually.
As for when the tightening begins, economists polled by Reuters on March 12 plumped for the third quarter of next year.
5) Picking up
The earnings season is all but over and both headline revenue and earnings statistics look good for Europe, although first-quarter revisions to sales are down by an average 1.4%.
Earnings, though, have been revised up an average 4.6%.
Looking at the STOXX Europe 600, standout losers sectorally on earnings are energy and industrials, but while the latter saw much better sales, energy was the laggard once again.
The biggest loser so far on Q1 earnings revisions is the IT sector, while financials look like having a happy few months, with an average upward revision of nearly 38%.
1) Ukraine standoff
The prospect of sanctions against Russia being approved as soon as Monday, after a referendum on Crimea's reunification with Russia, is likely to set a gloomy backdrop for financial markets in the coming week.
Russian assets have already been hammered as investors pull out, and emerging markets more broadly are on the back foot.
Some are warning that a prolonged standoff over Ukraine could take a toll on Russian growth.
2) Still under the cosh
Worries over economic slowdown in China have also contributed to the wariness in markets.
Beyond the "big picture" themes of Ukraine and China, domestic political concerns are hanging over the likes of Turkey and South Africa.
This is even prompting some local investors to pull money out of emerging markets and seek more liquid and stable investments elsewhere.
3) Seeking shelter
The yen and the Swiss franc, traditional safe havens in turbulent times, have been the main beneficiaries from the turmoil over Ukraine.
Some have cited the threat of US sanctions undermining the dollar in favour of the "non-aligned" franc.
The euro has done pretty well too, hitting a 2 1/2-year high versus the dollar before European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said the exchange rate had a significant impact on low inflation and reiterated that the bank was ready to act to combat the threat of deflation.
4) Slowly does it
The Federal Reserve's policy meeting in the coming week will be watched for any detail on how far and how fast interest rates will rise once the US central bank embarks on its tightening cycle.
Policymakers have been keen in recent weeks to stress that rates will go up only gradually.
As for when the tightening begins, economists polled by Reuters on March 12 plumped for the third quarter of next year.
5) Picking up
The earnings season is all but over and both headline revenue and earnings statistics look good for Europe, although first-quarter revisions to sales are down by an average 1.4%.
Earnings, though, have been revised up an average 4.6%.
Looking at the STOXX Europe 600, standout losers sectorally on earnings are energy and industrials, but while the latter saw much better sales, energy was the laggard once again.
The biggest loser so far on Q1 earnings revisions is the IT sector, while financials look like having a happy few months, with an average upward revision of nearly 38%.
