Global Stocks Tank, Crude Oil Soars As Russia Moves Troops Into Ukraine

Putin's comments worsened an already grim selloff in Asian trade, pushing MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down over 3 per cent, with Australian shares off 3 per cent

Brent crude futures, which seesawed between sharp rises and falls on Wednesday, resumed a climb toward $100 a barrel on Thursday, adding 1.22 per cent to $97.98. Image: Getty

New Delhi: As Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a blistering warning against Ukraine and ordered special military operations in Ukraine’s Donbass region, global stocks and US bond yields plunged, while the dollar, gold, and crude oil prices skyrocketed on Thursday, as reported by Reuters.

According to the news agency, several explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, before dawn, after an initial series of sounds similar to artillery fire, shortly after Russia sent troops into parts of Ukraine.

Putin called on Ukrainian soldiers to immediately lay down their arms and go home, and said the responsibility for any bloodshed will be on the conscience “of the Ukrainian regime” according to comments carried by Russian news agencies.

The comments worsened an already grim selloff in Asian trade, pushing MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down more than 3 per cent, with Australian shares off more than 3 per cent, and Chinese blue chips down 1.3 per cent.

Tokyo’s Nikkei was 2.4 per cent lower. US stock market futures were also down sharply, with S&P 500 e-minis down 2 per cent and Nasdaq futures 2.5 per cent weaker.

Key Indian equity bechmarks, Sensex and Nifty, plunged sharply too. The BSE Sensex dived over 2,050 points, while the NSE Nifty slid more than 570 points. 

As one of the worst post-Cold War security crises in Europe for decades worsens, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believed Russia will invade Ukraine within hours after separatists on Wednesday asked for Moscow’s help to repel “aggression” and as explosions rocked the breakaway eastern city of Donetsk.

Asset markets have seen a sharp increase in volatility over the deepening crisis, with oil racing to near $100 per barrel and the Cboe Volatility Index, known as Wall Street's fear gauge, up more than 55 per cent over the past nine days.

Brent crude futures, which seesawed between sharp rises and falls on Wednesday, resumed a climb toward $100 a barrel on Thursday, adding 1.22 per cent to $97.98. West Texas Intermediate rose 1.32 per cent to $93.32 per barrel.

Spot gold jumped more than 1.2 per cent to $1,930.86, its highest since early January 2021.

Putin’s comments torpedoed US stocks took a beating, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.38 per cent to barely above the level that would have confirmed a correction. The MSCI World Index, a leading gauge of equity markets globally, skidded to its lowest level since April 2021.

Immediate geopolitical threats weighed on US yields on Thursday, pushing the benchmark US 10-year yield down sharply to 1.9165 per cent from its US close of 1.977 per cent on Wednesday. The 2-year yield also fell to 1.5358 per cent from a close of 1.6 per cent.

The euro was down 0.38 per cent on the day at $1.1266, while the Russian rouble turned lower, slipping 0.3 per cent against the dollar after falling more than 3 per cent on Wednesday.

The sell-off spread to cryptocurrency markets, pushing bitcoin below $36,000 and to a one-month low of $35,197.44.