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European stocks were pummelled in early action Monday on concerns a Russian attack of Ukraine could happen as early as this week.
The Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
dropped 2.5%, led lower by travel and banking sectors.
Wizz Air
WIZZ,
a U.K.-listed airline focused on Central Europe, dropped 11%. Raiffeisen Bank
RBI,
an Austrian bank which earned 35% of its pretax profit from Russia last year, dropped 9%.
Evraz
EVR,
a U.K.-listed Russian steel maker, rose 14%, but has still dropped 52% this year.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury
TMUBMUSD10Y,
dropped 6 basis points to 1.94%. Concerns around a more aggressive Fed have been offset by demand for safe assets.
Russia has been conducting military exercises in Belarus and naval exercises on the Black Sea, effectively encircling Ukraine on three sides. Some western airlines including Air France-KLM
AF,
cancelled flights to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as weapons from NATO members were shipped to the country.
U.S. President Joe Biden has repeatedly said any attack on Ukraine would be met by a series of sanctions.
The Russian RTS index
RTS,
dropped 3.2%, continuing a slide that’s brought the index down 11% this year. The VanEck Russian ETF
RSX,
which is listed in the U.S., has dropped 8% this year.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
fell about 200 points.
