World Stocks Mixed on Rising Ukraine Tensions

On Thursday, world stocks grappled for direction as investors continued to monitor the rising geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

Accordingly, Russian-backed rebels accused the Ukrainian government forces of opening fire on their territory four times in the previous 24 hours.

The shelling was a violation of agreements aimed to end the conflict in the contested Donbas area.

The allegation came after Moscow massed more than 100,000 troops close to Ukraine’s borders, raising fears of an invasion.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the US accused Russia of adding another 7,000 troops.

The American government said that the claims of a withdrawal of Russian military presence were false.

Eventually, this statement fueled more tension leading to widespread losses on most world stocks.

In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx 600 slashed 0.16% to 467.03 points.

Subsequently, flag carrier Air France slumped at the bottom of the index as it lost 5.86% to $4.79 per share.

The airline mentioned its plans to raise up to $4.60 billion as it seeks to repay state pandemic handouts.

This announcement overshadowed its robust latest earnings due to the recovery in air travel.

Then, mining company Evraz and satellite operator Eutelsat also placed at the bottom of the index. The companies shed 5.70% to $423.17 and 5.05% to $12.28, respectively.

In the United Kingdom, the blue-chip FTSE 100 declined 0.58% to 7,559.78 points, extending losses from Wednesday.

Oil industry giants BP and Shell were down 1.64% to $540.50 and 2.27% to $2688.69, respectively. They dragged the British index due to the weakness in crude prices.

Conversely, Germany’s DAX 40 index added 0.23% to 15,405.43 points. Then, France’s benchmark CAC gained 0.39% to 6,991.92 points.

World Stocks; Asian Shares Mixed, US Futures Down

In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed 0.83% lower to 27,232.87 points. The broader TOPIX index also slumped 0.79% to 1,931.24 points.

Notably, falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with Recruit Holdings as the worst performer.

The human resources company dropped 5.76% to $41.97 per share, weighing down the Japanese shares.

Inversely, the Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.06% to 3,468.04 points. At the same time, its Shenzhen counterpart climbed 0.35% to 13,422.90 points.

Meanwhile, Wall Street futures pointed to a lower open, adding to the average downtrend of the world stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts decreased 0.48% to 34,685.00 points.

Likewise, the S&P 500 diminished 0.55% to 4,445.25 points as the Nasdaq lost 0.71% to 14,496.50 points.