Stock futures plummet
Wall Street futures fell sharply early on Thursday morning after Russian president Valdimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine to eliminate what he described as a serious threat and “de-Nazify” the country.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea, with airstrikes and missile attacks targeting Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and other key cities.
Putin called on Ukraine military to surrender, defying calls from the U.S. and its Western allies not to start a war.
In a statement following the invasion, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the “unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces” and promised that the world would hold Putin accountable for the invasion.
At 5:33 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were down 197 points, or 0.77%. S&P 500 futures were down 23 points, or 0.78% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were down 58.75 points, or 0.7%.
Brent crude futures rise above $100 on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Crude futures jumped on Thursday, with Brent rising above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked supply disruption fears.
Russia is the second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia and the world’s top exporter of natural gas. Analysts say the conflict in Ukraine is more likely to disrupt the flow of natural gas in Europe than oil.
As of 5:35 a.m. ET, Global Brent crude futures surging past the $100-a-barrel mark, gaining $7.66, or 8.14% to $101.71 a barrel, its highest in eight years.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed $7.95, or 8.63% to $100.05 a barrel.
Bitcoin slides along with other cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were also trading lower on Thursday morning after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.
As of writing, the price of bitcoin was around $35,400 per coin, down 8.71% over the past 24 hours. Rivals ethereum and dogecoin were trading around $2,382 and 11 cents per coin, respectively, according to Coindesk data.
The current Bitcoin slump appears to be influenced by the Russia-Ukraine war, unlike previous selloffs that were largely triggered by the threat of increased regulation by the U.S. or China.
Traders are dumping volatile stocks and virtual assets like bitcoin in favor of more stable assets such as gold.
