From the very beginning of trading, European stock indices have been showing a decline of 3% amid the increasing tension of the situation in Eastern Europe.
Thus, the key British FTSE 100 index fell by 1.27% to 7,389.6 points, the French CAC 40 lost 1.94%, dropping to 6,656.98 points, and the German DAX sank by 2.29% to 1,4393.58 points.
The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. According to the new documents, the maintenance of peace in the DPR and LPR will be provided by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
In response, the President of the United States Joe Biden signed a sanctions decree stating that Russia's recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR poses a threat to national security and America's foreign policy interests.
On Monday, trading on European stock exchanges also ended in the red due to another aggravation of the geopolitical situation in eastern Europe. At the same time, at the beginning of the session, the leading stock indicators showed confident positive dynamics against the background of news that French President Emmanuel Macron offered the leaders of the United States and Russia a summit on security issues in Europe. The Presidents of both states accepted the proposal.
However, by the end of the trading day, stock indicators began to decline spectacularly against the background of the prospects of recognition of the independence of the DPR and the LPR by the Russian Federation.
In addition, the internal statistics of the region provided tangible support for the exchange indicator of European stock markets on Monday. Thus, according to preliminary estimates of experts, in February, the composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) of 19 eurozone countries rose to 55.8 points from January's 52.3 points. At the same time, analysts predicted an increase to 52.7 points.
The indicator of activity in the service sector this month jumped to a similar 55.8 points from 51.1 points in January.
The strengthening of the euro against the dollar had a tangible negative impact on the leading stock indices in Europe. So, yesterday, the euro exchange rate against the US currency increased by 0.15% to $ 1.134 per euro. The main support for the European currency was the same strong statistics for the region.
As a result, the Europe Stoxx 600 index of leading European enterprises lost 1.3%, closing at 454.81 points. The securities of the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (+4%), the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor (+2.9%), and the French operator of gerontological centers Orpea Group (+1.9%) reported the highest indicators as part of the Europe Stoxx 600 components.
The main outsiders were the shares of British online retailer THG PLC (-8.8%), mining company Polymetal International (-8.5%), and mobile operator Millicom International Cellular SA (-7.6%).
The German DAX fell by 2.07% to 14,731.12 points, the French CAC 40 lost 2.04%, dropping to 6788.34 points, and the British FTSE 100 sank by 0.39% to 7,484.33 points.
