European stocks fall, oil exceeds 110 dollars, as the Ukrainian crisis continues

LONDON (Reuters) – Stocks came under renewed pressure and the price of oil rose further on Wednesday as Russia showed no signs of halting its assault on Ukraine.

A week after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale invasion of its neighbour, the bombing of Ukrainian cities continued while Western countries tightened sanctions on Moscow. Read more

US President Joe Biden has banned Russian planes from US airspace, warning that Putin “has no idea what’s coming.” Read more

European stock indices were on their second day of declines, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.7% at 0857 GMT. (.stoxx)The German DAX is down 1.2% on the day (.GDAXI).

European banking shares fell further after the European arm of Russia’s Sberbank was forced to close. Read more

The MSCI World Stock Index, which tracks stocks in 50 countries, fell 0.4% (.MIWD00000PUS).

Russia said its forces captured Ukraine’s first major city on Wednesday and captured Kherson in the south as fighting raged across the country. Read more

said Antoine Lissen, Head of ETF Strategy and Research at the Street State SPDR ETF.

Oil prices rose, with Brent crude touching $113.02 – its highest since 2014 – and US crude close to breaking its 2013 peak.

The yield on the US 10-year bond was at 1.7258%, after falling sharply in the previous two sessions.

SPDR’s Lissen said ETF flows in the US rose last week as investors used them to take risk-free positions, but that inflows in Europe were “more muted.” Lesny said he had not put any funds on hold related to dealings with Russia.

He said the best performing ETFs are those that have exposure to European healthcare and utilities, as well as energy-related ETFs.

BlackRock Inc . Top Asset Manager (BLK.N) On Tuesday, it said it was consulting with regulators, index providers and other market participants to help clients exit positions in Russian securities where permitted. Read more

The ruble is down about 3.5% on the day against the dollar, at 108.6, after weakening to a record low of 117 per dollar on Tuesday.

Foreign investors are effectively stuck in their holdings of ruble-denominated bonds, known as OFZs, after Russia’s central bank temporarily halted coupon payments and a major offshore settlement system stopped accepting Russian assets. Read more

The US dollar index rose 0.5%, after touching its highest levels since mid-2020, as investors sought safer assets.

The euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.1068, hitting a new seven-year low against the Swiss franc.

Eurozone government bond yields stabilized, after experiencing a dramatic repricing on Tuesday when traders trimmed their bets on the European Central Bank (ECB) which raised interest rates this year.

On Wednesday, eurozone money markets returned to pricing by 20 basis points to raise interest rates from the European Central Bank by December.

The German 10-year yield was up 4 basis points on the day, up slightly after Tuesday’s sharp drop.

While attention remains focused on Ukraine, investors will also be watching HCIP’s preliminary eurozone inflation data, which is expected to show inflation rose to 5.4% in February.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Hocroft) Editing by Mark Potter

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