Russia’s occupation of Ukraine plunges stocks, oil boom

On February 22, 2022, a man wears a safety mask outside the brokerage firm in Tokyo, Japan, crossing an electronic board displaying Japan’s Nikkei Index and stock market index prices in the midst of the Corona virus outbreak (COVID-19). REUTERS / Kim Kyung-hoon

SHANGHAI, Feb. 24 (Reuters) – Global stocks and U.S. bonds fell on Thursday as dollar, gold and oil prices rose as Russian troops landed in Ukrainian cities on the Black Sea. .

Russian news agencies have reported that Russian troops have landed in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa and in Mariupol in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. read more

At the same time, Ukrainian military command centers in the cities of Kyiv and Karkiv were attacked by missiles, according to the Ukrainian Pravda news website, citing a Ukrainian Interior Ministry official.

The attacks came on the heels of a blistering warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Putin called on Ukrainian soldiers to immediately lay down their arms and go home, and Russian news agencies reported that the responsibility for any bloodshed lay with the conscience of the “Ukrainian regime.” read more

Putin also approved special military operations in the Donbass region of Ukraine.

In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, in the early hours of the morning, after the initial series of sounds like artillery fire, several explosions were heard, shortly after Russia announced military action, the Reuters witness said.

These comments have already exacerbated strong selling in Asian trade, pushing MSCI’s broader index of Asia-Pacific stocks out of Japan. (.MIAPJ0000PUS) With Australian shares down more than 3.2% (.AXJO) More than 3% discount and Chinese blue chips (.CSI 300) 1.3% lower.

Nikkei of Tokyo (.N225) Was 2.4% lower. The US stock market futures also fell sharply, with the S&P 500 e-Minis weakening 2.3% and Nasdaq Futures 2.8%.

“The market is always trying to determine whether they will stop at Donbass, and it is clear that they are moving towards Kiev. There must be a new barrier against it now, “said Chris Weston, Pepperstone’s head of research.

“That’s where the worst situation, or bear case, is in the markets. That’s what we see. There are no buyers here at risk, and there are a lot of sellers, so this market has been hit hard.”

The Cboe Validity Index, also known as the Wall Street Fear Scale, has seen a sharp rise in property markets volatility over the past nine days due to the crisis, which has risen more than 55%. (.VIX)

Brent crude rose 3.5% on Wednesday between sharp rises and falls, crossing $ 100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since September 2014. West Texas Intermediate was up 4.6% at $ 96.22 a barrel, its highest level since August. 2014.

Spot gold rose more than 1.7% to its highest level since the beginning of January 2021.

Shares of the stock traded higher after the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit US stocks on Wednesday. (.DJI) 1.38% decrease, slightly higher than the level at which an amendment has been confirmed. MSCI World Code (.MIWD00000PUS)The leading benchmark of global stock markets fell to its lowest level since April 2021.

Investors also face the possibility of an immediate tightening of the US Federal Reserve’s policy aimed at combating rising inflation, which could be exacerbated by a commodity supply shock, NAB analysts said.

Although expectations for an aggressive 50-point-point hike at the central bank’s March meeting have eased, the Fed’s future points to at least a six-point increase this year. FEDWATCH

Similarly, immediate geopolitical threats weighed on U.S. yields on Thursday, drastically reducing U.S. 10-year yields to 1.8681% from Wednesday’s 1.977%. 2-year yield also decreased from 1.6% to 1.5%.

Global flight for defense raised the dollar to 96.715, more than half of the basket of other major trading partners.

The euro was down 0.8% at $ 1.1220.

The Russian ruble plummeted after registering small gains at the start of the session. It fell nearly 4% to 3% against the dollar on Wednesday.

The sale spread to cryptocurrency markets, pushing Bitcoin below $ 35,000 for the first time in a month.

“Markets are now being adequately priced at the risk of something terrible happening. There is a terrible environment coupled with uncertainty. No one wants to be exposed to risk when it floats,” said Rob Cornell, head of Asia-Pacific research at ING. .

Report by Andrew Calbright in Shanghai; Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo, Synod Curve in New York, Alun John in Hong Kong and Wayne Cole in Sydney; Editing by Sri Navaratnam and Kim Gokil

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