European Stocks Close Weak As Geopolitical Tensions Weigh

(RTTNews) - Despite a fairly strong recovery during the final hour of the day's session, European stocks closed on a weak note on Monday amid rising geopolitical tensions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The West continues to ramp up sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion, leading to worries about the impact on the global economy.

Western allies have announced that key Russian banks are to be excluded from the Swift interbank system and freezed the assets of the Central Bank of Russia. Washington has banned US individuals and firms from transacting with the Central Bank of Russia, Russian National Wealth Fund, and the Ministry of Finance.

The EU and the UK banned Russian aeroplanes from entering their airspace.

Russia's central bank more than doubled interest rates to 20% in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent the run of banks amid crippling Western sanctions over the Russian war in Ukraine.

The rouble sank more than 40% to a record low against the dollar while oil prices jumped by as much as $7 a barrel as President Vladimir Putin put his country's nuclear deterrent on high alert amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian officials are meeting on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border to discuss a possible ceasefire, although optimism the talks will lead to peace is low.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.09%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.42% down. Germany's DAX slid 0.73% and France's CAC 40 declined 1.39%, while Switzerland's SMI ended flat.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed weak.

Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Portugal ended higher.

In the UK market, Polymetal International crashed more than 56% due to the company's Russian exposure.

Evraz tumbled 30%. Mondi ended 12% down Coca-Cola declined nearly 11%. Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings, Prudential, Smurfit Kappa Group, BP, IAG, Pearson and Barclasy Group shed 3 to 5%.

BAE Systems moved up more than 10% Germany said it would ramp up military spending in a major policy shift. Bunzl, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Barratt Developments, Antofagasta, Taylor Wimpey, RightMove and B&M European Value Retail gained 4 to 8%.

Flutter Entertainment, Persimmon, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Intertek Group and Halmo also rallied sharply.

In the French market, Societe Generale plunged nearly 10%. BNP Paribas, Renault, Valeo, Faurecia, Credit Agricole, Saint Gobain and Danone lost 3 to 8%. Essilor, AXA, Accor and Air France-KLM also declined sharply.

Thales soared nearly 12%. Dassault Systemes moved up 4.3% and Atos climbed 2.7%. Teleperformance gained 1.5%, while and Legrand both ended higher by about 1.1%.

In the German market, Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, Continental, Fresenius, Daimler, Bayer, Siemens, Munich RE and Allianz lost 2 to 5%.

Zalando surged up 6.5%. Siemens Healthineers, RWE, HelloFresh, MTU Aero Engines, Sartorius and E.ON gained 2.5 to 4%. Qiagen and Vonovia also posted strong gains.

In economic news, the Swiss economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter due to the restrictive measures associated with the pandemic weighed on activity, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, said on Monday.

Gross domestic product grew 0.3% sequentially in the fourth quarter, much slower than the 1.9% expansion seen in the third quarter. Growth was forecast to slow to 0.4%. On a yearly basis, GDP growth slowed marginally to 3.7%, as expected, from 3.8% in the prior quarter.

A key measure of turning points in Switzerland's economy fell unexpectedly in February to its lowest level in a year, results of a monthly survey by the KOF Institute showed Monday.

The economic barometer dropped to 105.0 from 107.2 in January, which was revised from 107.8. Economists had expected the reading to rise to 108.5.