European stocks fall on Russian oil boycott
European stock markets closed lower in a very volatile session, with the Madrid, London and Milan indices being the only exceptions to the drop in the main markets of the Old Continent.
Investors fear an economic slowdown with Russian energy embargoes, so the sell-off continued today across most of Europe.
The United States announced a ban, effective today, on the import of oil and gas products from Russia. Meanwhile, the UK plans to do the same, but only for Russian oil, leaving gas aside.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended the day down 0.5% at 415.06 points, remaining at a 12-month low and very close to a “bear market” – you are entering a “bear market “when a security, index or other asset is down at least 20% from the previous high.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and economic sanctions already imposed on Moscow, investors now fear that rising energy prices will stagnate economic growth at a time when inflation continues to rise , thus creating a risk of stagflation in Europe.
In London, Brent from the North Sea, which is the benchmark for European imports, continues to trade around 132 dollars a barrel, after having already jumped 8.07% to 133.15 dollars – values which do not haven’t seen each other for 14 years. .
On the other hand, the German Dax index and the Euro Stoxx 500 continued on Tuesday in the “bear market” – territory they entered yesterday – but little changed.
The French CAC-40 depreciated by 0.3% and in Amsterdam the AEX recorded a drop of 1.8%.
In contrast, the Italian FTSEMIB rose 0.8%, the UK FTSE 100 0.1% and the Spanish IBEX 35 1.8%.
By sectors, on the earnings side, companies listed in the energy, banking and retail sectors outperformed the most, while technology and media stocks were among the biggest decliners. .
