World Shares Skid After Putin Orders Troops To East Ukraine

By The Financial District
Feb 22, 2022
2 min read

Shares fell sharply in Asia on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine “to maintain peace,” suggesting an invasion was possibly underway, Elaine Kurtenbach reported for Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Russian forces had seemingly withdrawn from the Ukraine border as the Ministry of Defence claimed these units had completed their military training exercises in the region.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.2% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 3.2% in early trading Tuesday. Oil prices jumped, with U.S. crude up 2.8%. The future for the S&P 500 dropped 1.7% while the contract for the Dow industrials lost 1.5%. US markets were closed on Monday for Presidents Day.

In Asian trading, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was down 582.97 points at 26,327.90 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up nearly 800 points to 23,390.29. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.8% to 2,693.38 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 1.2% to 3,448.49. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.4% to 7,134.50.

In Europe, shares slipped Monday as investors awaited developments in the Ukraine crisis. Germany’s DAX gave up 2.1%. In Paris, the CAC 40 in Paris declined 2%. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3%. Russia’s MOEX index dropped nearly 11%. The ruble was down 3.2% against the US dollar.

Western powers fear Russia might use skirmishes in Ukraine’s eastern regions as a pretext for an attack on the democracy, which has defied Moscow’s attempts to pull it back into its orbit.

All the news: Business man in suit and tie smiling and reading a newspaper near the financial district.

Treasury yields have fallen as investors shift money into the safety of US bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, sank to 1.85% by early Tuesday from 1.93% on Monday.

In currency trading, the US dollar slipped to 114.62 Japanese yen from 114.74 yen late Monday.

Market & economy: Market economist in suit and tie reading reports and analysing charts in the office located in the financial district.

The euro fell to $1.1300 from $1.1312. US benchmark crude oil advanced $2.42 to $92.63 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international pricing basis, added $1.38 to $96.77 per barrel.

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