Sarcasm in Ukraine Roils Markets Swinging Between War, Peace
- Stocks slide, oil rises after Ukrainian president’s comments
- Markets on edge over geopolitical tensions in Europe
This article is for subscribers only.
Subtlety has never been Wall Street’s strong suit, and when a dose of sarcasm crept into the high-stakes discourse around tensions between Russia and Ukraine, it briefly proved more than traders could process.
Confusion reigned Monday afternoon, when media accounts of what appears to have been a tongue-in-cheek quip by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy deriding assumptions about Russia’s military intent ignited a brief bout of ill-advised selling.