The stock market plunged Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent forces into Ukraine, accelerating fears of a major war in eastern Europe.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped 151.98 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,212.23 on a value turnover of P9.9 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 168 to 43, with 34 issues unchanged.
DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third major mobile phone player, sank 7 percent to P6.14, while noodles maker Monde Nissin Corp. fell 6.3 percent to P14.80.
Citicore Energy REIT Corp. dropped 4.9 percent to P2.70, while BDO Unibank Inc. of the Sy Group, the biggest lender in terms of assets, declined. 3.5 percent to P130.10.
Oil prices, meanwhile, soared past $100 and safe havens rallied while equities tumbled Thursday.
After weeks of warnings from the United States and other powers, the Kremlin—which is said to have around 200,000 lined up—ordered a wide-ranging offensive into its neighbor, days after saying it would provide “peacekeepers” to two breakaway regions.
The Russian president said in a surprise statement on television: “I have made the decision of a military operation.”
He also vowed retaliation against anyone who interfered and called on the Ukraine military to lay down its arms.
There were later reports of incursions from several directions, with Ukraine’s border guard service saying Russian tanks and other heavy equipment crossed the frontier.
The news sparked a furious reaction from world leaders and pledges to ramp up sanctions on Moscow.
Oil prices rocketed more than six percent with Brent cruising past $100, for the first time since September 2014, while other commodities including wheat rallied on fears about supplies from the resource-rich region. Aluminum hit a record high.
Safe have assets also surged, with gold hitting a more than one-year high, the Japanese yen piling higher against the dollar and the Swiss franc hitting a five-year high on the euro.
The dollar was up nine percent against the ruble, which has been battered in recent weeks on worries about the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy, while the Moscow Stock Exchange plunged almost 14 percent after suspending trading earlier in the day.
The country’s central bank said it was intervening to “stabilize the situation.”
Asian equities plunged, with Hong Kong, Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore and Wellington down at least three percent, while Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok and Manila fell more than two percent. There were also steep losses in Tokyo, Shanghai and Jakarta. With AFP
London lost more than two percent at the open while Paris and Frankfurt lost more than four percent.
“It is hard to find any reasons for the selloff to reverse now that it appears the tanks are rolling,” said OANDA’s Jeffrey Halley.
“Stronger sanctions are to come on Russia and energy prices will inevitably head higher in the short term.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier warned Russia could start “a major war in Europe” in the coming days.
US President Joe Biden deplored the Russian operation as an “unprovoked and unjustified” attack, adding that it would cause “catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.” Further stringent sanctions would be announced, he said. With AFP