Asian markets are plunging as tensions escalate between Ukraine and Russia

Hong Kong / New York
CNN Business
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Markets across Asia fell on Tuesday morning as tensions between Ukraine and Russia continued to escalate. Fresh concerns about China’s crackdown on technology have further dampened sentiment.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index

(N225) It fell 1.9%, and the Korean Kospi lost 1.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 both fell more than 1%.

Hang Seng in Hong Kong

(HSI) The index fell 3.2 percent, poised to incur the largest daily loss in five months.

The decline in Asia was preceded by a similar drop in US stock futures earlier Monday evening local time. daw

(INDU) Futures fell 458 points, or 1.4%. S&P 500 futures are down 2.3%, while Nasdaq futures are down 3.3%.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin Russian forces ordered To two pro-Moscow separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after recognition of their independence on Monday. Move to recognize breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine as independent Looks like the opening shot For a possible larger military operation targeting Ukraine, roughly a dozen US and Western officials told CNN.

“It looks like the situation could escalate significantly at any moment, and that will keep investors on their toes for the time being,” Craig Erlam, chief market analyst at Oanda, wrote in a research note on Tuesday. “We may be on the brink of something horrible happening and this continues to feed negativity in the markets,” he added.

Concerns about a renewed technology crackdown by Beijing have also dealt a blow to some of the largest Chinese companies in the sector.

The Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks the city’s 30 largest listed technology companies, lost 3% on Tuesday, on track to decline for a third day in a row.

On Friday, Chinese authorities Released new rules Request food delivery platforms to lower the service fees they charge businesses.

Online food delivery platform Meituan fell 6% on Tuesday. The stock has fallen 23 percent since Friday.

And social media and gaming giant Tencent is down nearly 2%. The company also owns a large stake in Meituan.

Alibaba Group

(Baba)which owns food delivery platform Ele.me, is down 3.9%.

On the oil front, the uncertainty over Ukraine was reflected by the sudden rise in futures contracts. US crude futures jumped 3.1 percent to trade at $93.86 a barrel. Brent crude rose 1.5 percent to $96.78 a barrel.

Summit between US President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin ImprobableA senior administration official told reporters, following intelligence and indications on the ground, that Russia is likely to take military action in neighboring Ukraine.

Markets in the US were closed on Monday for the President’s Day holiday. last fridayThe Dow closed down about 233 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index ended the day with losses of 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively. All three indicators ended the past week in red for the second week in a row.