European Shares Likely To See Gap-down Opening

European stocks are seen opening sharply lower on Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced a military operation in Ukraine in a televised address early Thursday in Moscow.

Putin claimed the action was in response to Ukrainian threats and stated it was to “demilitarize” the country. He said countries that attempted to interfere would be dealt “consequences they have never seen.”

The United States and its allies will respond in a united and decisive way to “an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces” on Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden said after blasts were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Asian markets and U.S. stock futures plunged, while oil prices jumped more than $4 on anxiety about possible disruptions of Russian supplies. Gold futures climbed 2 percent despite a surging dollar.

U.S. stocks slumped overnight as the potential for war in Ukraine added to uncertainty over the pace of Fed tightening.

A Pentagon official told reporters 80 percent of Russian forces amassed on the Ukraine border are “ready to go” and said Putin has assembled enough military assets to “conduct a large-scale invasion.”

The S&P 500 shed 1.8 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell as much as 2.6 percent to reach their lowest closing levels in eight and nine months, respectively, while the Dow dropped 1.4 percent to hit a nearly eleven-month closing low.

European stocks ended Wednesday’s session on a mixed note as investors weighed Ukraine tensions against generally positive corporate earnings. The pan European Stoxx 600 eased 0.3 percent.

The German DAX dipped 0.4 percent and France’s CAC 40 index slipped 0.1 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended flat with a positive bias.

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