Concerns rose further after Putin recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent
Stock markets in Asia saw decent losses on Tuesday amid the threat of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia after Putin recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent. In a knee-jerk reaction to the decision, the White House issued an executive order to prohibit US investment and trade in the separatist regions. As such, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led losses in the region, shedding 2.7%, followed by a loss of nearly 1% by China’s Shanghai Composite.
In Europe, equities opened sharply lower today to hit a seven-month low in early deals, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index falling 1.7%, entering its fourth straight session of losses. The German DAX 30 was last seen trading 1.13% lower. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day. Today, Wall Street stocks would open sharply lower, with the S&P 500 futures down nearly 2% already.
Meanwhile, the USD looks mixed on Tuesday, lacking the safe-haven demand despite the persisting downbeat tone in the global financial markets. EURUSD briefly dipped below the 1.1300 figure earlier in the day before bouncing in recent trading. The euro climbed back into positive territory and was last seen flirting with the 20-DMA around 1.1330. The latest European data showed that the headline German IFO business climate index improved to 98.9 in February from 96 in January, coming in better than expected.
Elsewhere, the bitcoin price keeps losing ground along with global stock markets on Tuesday. The BTCUSD pair extended losses to early-February lows around $36,300 before bouncing back above $37,000 in recent trading. The technical picture has deteriorated further after a break below the $40,000 psychological level, with downside risks persisting as long as the prices stay below this figure.
