European share markets have largely borne the initial brunt of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with steep falls in stocks, while Wall Street has so far avoided following suit.
Russia’s main share index plunged by a third, erasing some $US200 billion in value, in a record rout for that country’s bourse, Bloomberg reported.
Europe’s benchmark Stoxx50 index sank 3.6%, a decline echoed in major financial centres from London to Paris and Frankfurt, with those markets all losing about 4%…
On currency markets, the Euro, too, lost as much as 1.8% against the US dollar, touching its weakest level of $1.11 since June 2020, according to Bloomberg data. Russia’s ruble hit fresh record lows against the US dollar.
Crude oil, meanwhile, pared its earlier advances, with Brent dropping back below the $US100 a barrel level that it reached earlier on Thursday. Still, oil remains near its highest levels since 2014.
The invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat exporter, also pushed up food commodity prices, with wheat rising 5% to hit decade highs. Rabobank, an agribusiness specialist, estimates that some 5 million tonnes of Ukraine’s wheat crop had still to be shipped before the invasion, creating a shortfall that would likely be made up US and European supplies.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/feb/24/russia-invades-ukraine-declares-war-latest-news-live-updates-russian-invasion-vladimir-putin-explosions-bombing-kyiv-kharkiv
