Walking A Geopolitical Tightrope
- U.S. equity markets finished lower on another turbulent week as the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered a historic surge in commodities prices and sparked a bid for safe-haven domestic assets.
- Now having declined in six of the nine weeks of 2022, the S&P 500 declined 1.3%, back to the cusp of "correction" territory, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dipped 2.5%.
- Real estate equities were among the leaders on a frenetic week of earnings and M&A developments as the Equity REIT Index advanced 1.1% with 15-of-19 property sectors in positive territory.
- The final week of REIT earnings season saw several strong earnings reports and dividend hikes. Cell tower REIT SBA Communications, apartment REIT Centerspace, and shopping center REIT Whitestone each rallied after reporting strong results.
- Shopping center REIT Cedar Realty soared 20% after announcing it's liquidating the majority of portfolio and selling the rest to small-cap REIT Wheeler. Another troubled retail REIT, Seritage Growth, also gained 20% after announcing it's exploring a sale.
