Russia-Ukraine war creates tremors across global mkts

Dive in Global indices

- Nasdaq down by 20%

- London FTSE 100 fell 3.1%

- Frankfurt DAX plunged 4.8%

- Paris CAC lost 4.5%

- Moscows MOEX tumbled 1/3rd

- Tokyo Nikkei 225 fell 1.8%

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 3.2%

- Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.7%

- Kospi in Seoul lost 2.6%

- Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 fell 3%

- India's Sensex fell 4.7%

- New Zealand lost 3.3%

Beijing: Stocks plunged and oil prices surged by more than $8 per barrel Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched military action in Ukraine, prompting Washington and Europe to vow sanctions on Moscow that may roil the global economy.

Market benchmarks in Europe and Asia fell by more than 4per cent as traders tried to figure out how large Putin's incursion would be and the scale of Western retaliation. Wall Street futures sank, indicating that US shares were likely to retreat after trading opens. Energy prices surged, fuelling inflation fears. The spot price in Europe for natural gas, for which the continent relies on Russia to supply, jumped as much as 31per cent. Brent crude oil jumped above $100 per barrel in London for the first time since 2014 on unease about possible disruption of supplies from Russia, the No. 3 producer. Benchmark US crude briefly surpassed $98 per barrel. Prices of wheat and corn also jumped. The ruble sank 7.5per cent against the dollar. Financial markets are in a "flight to safety and may have to price in slower growth" due to high energy costs, Chris Turner and Francesco Pesole of ING said in a report.

In Brussels, the president of the European Commission said Thursday the 27-nation European Union planned "massive and targeted sanctions" on Russia. "We will hold President Putin accountable," Ursula von der Leyen said. The FTSE 100 in London fell 3.1 per cent to 7,263.75 after Europe awakened to news of explosions in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the major city of Kharkiv and other areas. The DAX in Frankfurt plunged 4.8 per cent to 13,936.29 and the CAC in Paris lost 4.5 per cent to 6,472.93. Moscow's stock exchange briefly suspended trading on all its markets on Thursday morning.