On Monday, European stocks fell and traders flocked to safe-haven assets as German chancellor Olaf Scholz prepared to fly to Moscow in a further push to discourage Russia from starting an invasion of Ukraine.
In early trading, the Stoxx Europe 600 index plummeted 2.9 percent, indicating a widespread decrease. The FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom sank 2.2%, while the Dax 30 in Germany and the Cac 40 in France both fell more than 3.5 percent. S&P 500 futures tumbled 1%, indicating that the blue-chip US stock index might fall much more after falling over 2% on Friday.
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The decline occurred after US national security advisor Jake Sullivan stated on Sunday that a Russian invasion on Ukraine could start "any day now," including "this coming week before the end of the Olympics." As western countries continue to evacuate diplomatic and military personnel from Ukraine, airlines have cancelled flights to the country. In the event of military action, several European nations are ready to welcome a stream of refugees.
Scholz will be in Moscow on Tuesday after visiting Kyiv on Monday. According to a senior government official, Merkel will encourage Putin to de-escalate the situation on the Ukraine border. He'll also emphasise "how serious the implications of an assault would be" in terms of sanctions against Russia, and "how important it is not to underestimate the EU, US, and UK's unity."
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden talked with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, with the White House stating that Biden made it clear that the US will respond "swiftly and decisively" to Russian military action.
In recent weeks, markets have mostly ignored the situation on the Russia-Ukraine border. However, late last week, the United States' warning that an assault may be near spurred selling on Wall Street, which has now spread to Europe.
"As the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine grows, so do the dangers of US economic sanctions." "These sanctions would be more severe than previous rounds, and they might harm companies all across the world, not only in Russia," Dan Wang, an analyst at Gavekal Research, said.
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