The shockwave from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reverberated in the world’s financial markets Thursday.  

London’s benchmark FTSE index was down 3.3% in midday trading, while both the CAC-40 index in Paris and Frankfurt’s DAX index were 5.5% lower. 

Markets in Asia and Australia all closed in negative territory in the aftermath of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index lost 1.8%. The Composite in Shanghai fell 1.7%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 3.2%. South Korea’s KOSPI index lost 2.6%, and the TSEC in Taiwan finished 2.5% lower. 

The Sensex in Mumbai plummeted 4.7%

Meanwhile, commodities were surging Thursday, with gold selling at $1,965.90 per ounce, up 2.9%. U.S. crude oil was selling at $99.64 per barrel, up 8.1%, and Brent crude oil soared 8.4%, selling at $105.06 per barrel, the first time it sold above the $100 mark since 2014.  

In futures trading, all three major U.S indices – the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq – were trending well in negative territory ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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