• Biden confirms earlier speculations about banning Russian flights.

• Futures on the S&P 500 pare early-day gains; US 10-year Treasury yields decrease as well.

• Fed Chair Powell testified that US ADP Employment Change is important, but not more than geopolitical headlines.

As US President Joe Biden gives his first State of the Union speech (SOTU), traders struggle to maintain early Asia's cautious optimism.

The US 10-year Treasury yields, which are depicting the mood, hold on to the bullion consolidation at 1.76% in the early Asian session, up five basis points (bps), at the latest. The initial gains of the S&P 500 Futures are now fading, with a 0.10% intraday gain around 4,310.

Despite this, US President Biden stated that the US would join its friends to ban Russian flights from US airspace.

The market sentiment deteriorated as Russia refuses to recognize the West's push for peace with Ukraine. The key negatives were the 40-mile-long troops and the bombings of civilian buildings.

Preparations by President Biden showed that he was prepared to say that the West was ready to support Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion Ukraine. His administration also has a plan for fighting inflation.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also commented on the issue.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank (WB), "War in Ukraine creating significant ripple effects in other countries, commodities prices rising, risk driving further fueling inflation." Reuters also reported that US Treasury Secretary Yellen strongly condemned Russia's illegal, brutish invasion of Ukraine.

Notable is the heavy fall in US Treasury yields, upbeat US data, and recent easing expectations for a 0.50% Fed rate-hike. This also affected the risk appetite yesterday. This could also be seen in Wall Street benchmarks' negative closings.

Market players will be looking for new inspiration after witnessing the initial reaction to US President Biden’s first SOTU. The bi-annual testimony of Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, and the US ADP Employment Change report for February will also be important.