Earthquake in the financial markets due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as diplomats prepare to respond and Joe Biden and the European Union threaten "severe sanctions" against Moscow.
Asian stock exchanges are down sharply, with Tokyo closing down 1.8%, Sydney by 3%, Seoul by 2.6%, Shanghai by 1.7% and Shenzhen by 2.4% while Hong Kong, still open, sinks by 3.4%. In Europe, Paris opened down 4.2%, Frankfurt by 4.4%, Milan by 1.8% while futures herald a difficult start in New York as well, with S&P 500 and Dow Jones losing 2, 5% and the Nasdaq 3.1%.
Disruption for the Moscow Stock Exchange, in the short period of trading between two suspensions, the first decided close to the announcement of the invasion of Ukraine by Putin and the second to stem the fall in the indices. The Moex has come to lose 28.8%. The ruble fell to historic lows against the dollar, touching 90, and then recovering some ground (now trading at 87.5, down 6.6%) also thanks to the intervention of the Russian central bank.
And what worries most of all are the prices of raw materials, which have already risen sharply for weeks: European oil exceeds 100 dollars (almost + 7% to 103), while the Texan oil is approaching it (+ 6% to 98).
The price of gas takes off in Europe due to the risks associated with Russian supplies: in Amsterdam, futures reached a maximum rise of 41%, to 125 euros per megawatt hour, before falling to 113 (but it is still + 27%) .
And the prices of food raw materials are also flying. In particular wheat, of which Ukraine is a major exporter, which rises by more than 5%, with the risk of knock-on effects on the prices of basic products such as bread and pasta.
(Unioneonline / L)
