Good morning.
Traders are holding their breath this morning ahead of what’s expected to be a torrid day on the markets.
An escalation of sanctions over the weekend – coupled with Vladimir Putin’s chilling nuclear threat – has fuelled uncertainty over how the invasion of Ukraine will progress.
The rouble has plunged to a fresh record low against the dollar, while the opening of the Moscow Exchange has been delayed.
While there’s been a mixed performance for Asian stocks overnight, the FTSE 100 and European stocks look set to plunge at the open.
Wai Ho Leong, an analyst at Modular Asset Management, said “A terrible weekend… hard to make any decisions when the conflict in Ukraine is re-intensifying.”
5 things to start your day
1) BP abandons stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft FTSE 100 company says Ukraine war caused it to ‘fundamentally rethink’ 19.75pc shareholding
2) Sanctions spark Russia bank run fears as country braces for ‘free fall’ in rouble Ban from Swift payments network set to send currency tumbling
