Oil prices break USD 100 first time in 8 years as Russia declares war on Ukraine

Brent crude oil surged to USD 100 a barrel for the first time in 8 years tracking the Ukraine-Russia crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a “military operation” in Ukraine. Brent surged to USD 100.04 a barrel after the announcement, as concerns grew about a full-scale conflict in eastern Europe.

Notably, oil has soared in recent weeks and on Thursday world benchmark Brent finally broke the USD 100 mark last seen in September 2014.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower Thursday as Putin declared military operation. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell to 4,225.50. That put it 11.9% below its Jan 3 record, solidly in a correction, or a decline of more than 10% from its latest peak. More than 85% of stocks in the S&P 500 fell. Tech companies weigh down the index most.

The Nasdaq, dominated by technology stocks, lost 2.6% to 13,037.49, led by steep losses in Apple and Microsoft. That put the index 18.8% below its November 2021 high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4% to 33,131.76.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,482.95 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo sank 0.7% to 26,255.65. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong tumbled 1.6% to 23,276.14.  The Kospi in Seoul lost 1.7% to 2,674.41 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 fell 2.7% to 7,009.30. New Zealand, Singapore and Jakarta declined while Bangkok gained.

In India, domestic equity gauges Sensex and Nifty crashed nearly 2.5 per cent in early morning deals.  

ALSO READ | Sensex, Nifty fall 3% each as Russia invades Ukraine

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