What happened
Shares of Stoneco (STNE -0.26%) are making big gains today. The Brazilian fintech's share price was up roughly 9.3% as of 2 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Officials from both Russia and Ukraine made comments today that pointed toward progress on negotiations that could end the war in Ukraine, and the development is creating positive momentum for stocks. Stoneco's share price also appears to be getting a boost from investor expectations that the Federal Reserve will take a relatively temperate approach to raising interest rates.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia said today that proposals being discussed in negotiations with Ukraine had brought the two sides close to an agreement. If a compromise is reached and Russia ceases its invasion of Ukraine, that could create more bullish momentum for Stoneco and other stocks, but investors should keep in mind that the situation remains fraught.
The Fed is also set to conduct its first meeting of the year today, and it's widely expected that the U.S. central banking organization will announce its first hike to lending rates since 2018. Investors have been fretting the possibility of dramatic rate hikes this year, and selling out of stocks as a result, but positive momentum for the broader market today suggests investors could be banking on a relatively mild increase to be announced today.
Now what
Stoneco is scheduled to publish its fourth-quarter earnings results after the market closes on Thursday. The company was originally set to publish its results on March 10, but it announced through a press release that the performance update was being delayed slightly.
The company doesn't normally provide guidance, so investors are being left to wonder whether the delay is indicative of a negative development, a positive catalyst such as potential acquisition news, or something largely immaterial to stock performance. Stoneco now has a market capitalization of roughly $2.8 billion and is valued at approximately 1.8 times this year's expected sales and 23 times expected earnings.
