European stocks tumbled on Monday as rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine triggered heavy selling across the board.
The United States said on Sunday that Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack, as it reaffirmed a pledge to defend “every inch” of Nato territory.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK Vadim Prystaiko said today in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that Kiev could drop its position on joining the NATO bloc if this move helps avert a war with Russia.
Worries about looming interest rate hikes and rising inflation weighed as well on stocks.
The pan European Stoxx 600 plunged 1.83%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 drifted down 1.69%, Germany’s DAX declined 2.02% and France’s CAC 40 plummeted 2.27%, while Switzerland’s SMI tanked 1.68%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey lost 1.4 to 3.1%.
In the U.K. market, Evraz plunged 29%. IAG, Barclays, Aveva Group, Melrose Industries, Lloyds Banking Group, Natwest Group, BP, Coca-Cola, ABRDN, Schrodders, JD Sports Fashion, Smurfit Kappa Group, Smith (DS), CRH, Prudential, Aviva Plc and Prudential declined 3 to 6%.
Fresnillo rallied 7% as bullion prices hit the highest since November 19 at $1,865.15 per ounce.
Polymetal International, Antofagasta, British American Tobacco, Anglo American Plc and Glencore lost 1 to 2%.
In the German market, Zalando, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, Infineon Technologies, Deutsche Post, BASF and Henkel ended lower by 3 to 4.1%. Sartorius, RWE, Munich RE and BMW closed nearly 3% down.
Allianz, SAP, Siemens Healthineers, HeidelbergCement, Merck, HelloFresh, Linde, Adidas and Airbus Group also declined sharply.
Banks led losses, with Commerzbank declining more than 2.5% after Germany’s finance minister said the government would not keep its stake in the lender in the long run. Rival Deutsche Bank also ended sharply lower.
Daimler climbed nearly 7%. Porsche Automobile rallied 2.6%.
In Paris, Societe Generale, Valeo, BNP Paribas, ArcelorMittal and Renault lost 4 to 6%.
Schenider Electric, Credit Agricole, Legrand, Saint Gobain, LO’real, Essilor, STMicroElectronics, Acco, Publicis Groupe, Michelin, Air France-KLM, Capgemini, LVMH, Safran and Faurecia shed 2 to 3.7%.
Atos ended stronger by more than 4% and Technip gained about 1.2%.
Spain’s BBVA declined sharply after announcing it would invest $300 million (about €263 million¹) in Neon, a Brazilian digital bank founded in 2016.
Shares of Swiss specialty chemicals group Clariant tumbled 16% after the company delayed the release of its 2021 results as investigators probe whistleblowers’ allegations.
Market Analysis
European Stocks Close Sharply Lower On Geopolitical Concerns
2022-02-14 18:38:44
