European stocks declined on Tuesday with attention still trained on the isolation of Russia from global financial markets after its invasion of Ukraine.
The Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
which ended just 0.1% lower on Monday despite heavier losses early in the day, skidded 2.4%.
Automaker Renault
RNO,
German lender Commerzbank
CBK,
and Irish carrier Ryanair
RYA,
were among the companies seeing sharp declines.
The German DAX
DAX,
and the French CAC 40
PX1,
each fell nearly 4%, while the U.K. FTSE 100
UKX,
lost 1.7%, as the index’s gearing to commodity producers helped limit damage.
While stocks struggled, bonds soared. The yield on Germany’s 10-year bund
TMBMKDE-10Y,
turned negative for the first time in a month. The yield on the U.K. 10-year gilt
TMBMKGB-10Y,
tumbled 26 basis points.
Heavy fighting continued in Ukraine, with the country’s second-largest city Kharkiv bombarded. Russia also said it was about to about making missile strikes on Kyiv, the capital. The Central Bank of Russia kept the local stock market closed for a second day after the U.S. barred transactions with it. The central bank on Monday lifted interest rates to 20% from 9.5%.
Rheinmetall RHM,
rose for a second day, gaining 18%, after Germany said it would spend €100 billion to boost its armed forces. Thales
HO,
and BAE Systems
BA,
also saw a second day of gains.
Oil companies including Aker BP
AKRBP,
and Equinor
EQNR,
surged as oil prices
CL.1,
spiked.