European stocks close lower again on Ukraine fears
European stocks have closed lower for the second day in a row.
- UK’s FTSE 100 index down 128 points, or 1.7%, at 7,330
- Germany’s Dax down 510 points, or 3.5%, at 13,950
- France’s CAC down 246 points, or 3.7%, at 6,412
- Italy’s FTSE MiB down 105 points, or 4.1%, at 24,363
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, said:
Screens across global markets have turned red again, as market sentiment shifts back towards risk aversion, due to the worsening situation in Ukraine.
While the start to the day was rather shaky, there had been hopes that equities might continue to push higher even with the difficult backdrop of the war in Ukraine. But those hopes have evaporated. Previously strong sectors such as banking are beginning to feel the pressure as investors reassess the outlook both for global GDP and tighter monetary policy, the latter exemplified by a pushing back of expectations around the first European Central Bank rate hike.
European markets continue to be the most affected, from a combination of closeness to Russia (both geographically and economically) and by the weaker earnings outlook here compared to the US. Kremlin pronouncements have become more strident today, further reducing the attractiveness of the continent’s equities.
Thank you for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow – JK
IEA weighs oil stocks release to stem oil price surge – report
Ministers from International Energy Agency member states are pondering the release of 60m barrels from oil reserves, to bring crude oil prices down, Reuters is reporting, citing two sources.
The US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm is chairing an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Paris-based IEA, which represents 30 nations and has coordinated three emergency oil stock releases in the past. It was founded in 1974 as an energy watchdog.
Brent crude is now trading at $104.25 a barrel, a $6.25 increase on the day. Any disruption from Russia, which has so far kept oil flowing to the west and exports around 4-5m barrels a day, could send prices even higher.
