European stocks look set to tumble on Friday after Russian forces shelled Europe’s largest nuclear plant, sparking a fire amid fierce fighting between Ukraine and Russian troops.
The Ukraine regulator has not detected a change in radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant site.
Asian stocks hit a 16-month low and the euro suffered heavy losses, while oil prices rose about 2 percent in Asian trade after retreating from a nearly 14-year high on Thursday amid hopes for the revival of Iran nuclear deal.
Gold prices eyed their best weekly gain since May 2021 after Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his support for a 25 bps rate hike.
In economic releases, Eurozone retail sales data and the U.S. Labor Department’s more closely-watched report on employment will be in focus later in the day.
Economists expect U.S. employment to jump by 400,000 jobs in February after an increase of 467,000 jobs in January. The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 3.9 percent from 4.0 percent.
U.S. stocks showed wild swings before finishing a tad lower overnight amid concerns that the sanctions imposed on Russia along with the subsequent surge in commodity prices will affect inflation and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
In economic news, the latest labor market and service sector data painted a mixed picture of the world’s largest economy.
The Dow eased 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 shed half a percent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.6 percent.
European stocks fell for the third time in four days Thursday as two credit agencies downgraded Russia’s sovereign debt to junk and index providers MSCI and FTSE Russell said they would remove Russian securities from their indexes.
The pan European Stoxx 600 plummeted 2 percent. The German DAX tumbled 2.2 percent, France’s CAC 40 index gave up 1.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 plunged 2.6 percent.
Business News
European Shares Set For Steep Selloff
2022-03-04 05:22:35
