Markets are getting a lift this morning from headlines out of Russia, where the country's defense ministry announced the pullback of some forces after they completed military drills near the border with Ukraine.  Ukraine appears to be doubting the "overstated" assessments as well.  Adding to the confusion over the situation on the ground, Ukrainian President Zelensky, a former comedian, took to social media yesterday to troll western media, triggering a bout of selling across equity markets.  His chief of staff later explained the remarks identifying tomorrow as the “day of the attack” should be interpreted as ironic.

Shares of Tower Semiconductor skyrocketed 50% in premarket trade after Intel agreed to buy the Israeli chipmaker for $53 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of $5.4B. The acquisition advances Intel's as the company expands its manufacturing capacity, global footprint and technology portfolio to address industry demand. It will also accelerate its path to becoming a major provider of foundry services and capacity globally.

The producer price index, which measures wholesale prices, rose 1% in January and 9.7% for the 12-month period, the latter just off the record high.  The increase was double the Wall Street estimate.