Ukraine war a ‘catastrophe’ for global economy as stock markets plunge
The London stock market has suffered its biggest weekly losses since the start of the global pandemic in March 2020, as investors took fright at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
Shares plunged in the City following news of a fire and Russian capture of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhianuclear power station, with the one-day drop of more than 250 points in the FTSE 100 index taking the weekly loss to 6.7%.
European bourses also recorded big falls amid concerns that the impact of the fighting in Ukraine would spread westwards across the continent. David Malpass, president of the World Bank, told the BBC the war was a “catastrophe” for the global economy.
Currency and commodity markets also ended ended the week amid fresh signs of turbulence, with a flight to the safe haven of the US dollar, the highest crude oil prices in a decade.
Meanwhile, wholesale gas prices reached record levels in both Britain and the EU. The UK National Balancing Point (NBP) benchmark soared above 500p a therm at one point, smashing through the previous all-time high set in December, amid a prolonged surge that caused the collapse of a series of household gas suppliers.
The FTSE 100 index in London finished 251 points lower on Friday at 6,998, a 3.5% drop. The German and French stock markets fell more than 4%, taking the Dax in Frankfurt to its lowest levels since late 2020, while the Italian index tumbled 6.2% to its lowest level in more than a year. Europe’s Euro Stoxx 600 index closed at its lowest level in almost a year.
Nervous investors were taking few chances ahead of what they expect to be another tough week when markets reopen on Monday.
Liam Peach, emerging markets analyst at Capital Economics, said: “Russia has fallen into chaos and we’ll get a
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