Russia’s attack on Ukraine hits the economy.. global stock exchanges, bitcoin and oil exceed $100

Russia’s attack on Ukraine hits the economy.. global stock exchanges, bitcoin and oil exceed $100

Global financial markets incurred losses in the first hours of trading on Thursday, affected by the announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin of special military operations, which he described as coming to “protect” the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, with strikes on other cities and regions of the country.

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European shares fell in the early minutes of trading Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 2.5% in London, the French CAC 40 down 4% and the German DAX 30 down 4%.

Russian stocks collapsed, with the country's main index down 45%, taking pain beyond that after the Russian ruble's exchange rate briefly plunged about 10% to a record low of 90 against the US dollar.

In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 3.2%, its biggest daily loss in five months. Korea's Kospi shed 2.6%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.8% and China's Shanghai Composite shed 1.7%.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014. US crude jumped 5.4 percent to $97.05 a barrel.

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It is noteworthy that oil supplies are already very scarce, as analysts have warned that any disruptions in oil flows from Russia, the second largest oil producer in the world, will push prices higher.

Dow futures lost nearly 700 points, or about 2%. Nasdaq futures fell 2.7%.

The price of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin plunged below $35,000 early Thursday, with Bitcoin trading at $34,969, down more than 8% from the day before.

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