European shares hit a seven-month low in early trade on Tuesday, as the prospect of economic sanctions against Russia, which has ordered troops into breakaway parts of eastern Ukraine, rattled investors.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.7% by 0810 GMT, entering its fourth straight session of losses. The benchmark has shed nearly 10% from its all-time high in early January.
The German DAX, seen as more vulnerable than other regional indices due to the country’s heavy reliance on Russian gas supplies and the lack of energy companies on the index, was hit the hardest, dropping 2.2%.
The broader euro-zone stock gauge dropped 2.1%, while Britain’s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 1.2%.
Investors scurried to the relative safety of gold and government bonds as the United States and its European allies were poised to announce harsh new sanctions against Russia.
Oil prices rallied on prospects of supply disruption, with the Brent crude trading at $97.67 a barrel – its highest since September 2014.
While oil & gas stocks found support, rising 0.7%, overall markets feared the surge in commodity prices will add to inflation worries.
Automakers, banks and financial services stocks were the top decliners among European sectors, falling between 2.7% and 3.1%.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Business News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsAzi is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
