Major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region traded lower on Monday as the crisis between Ukraine and Russia continues to escalate and impact the global economy.
Oil futures prices rose further and reached levels not observed since July 2008, after US authorities announced they will ban Russian oil imports. Meanwhile, the spot gold price surpassed $2,000 per ounce to hit a 19-month high, reaching August 2020 levels, and the price of the copper hit $5, an all-time high.
Japan's Nikkei 225 went down by 2.94%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.02% at the close of their trading sessions. South Korea's Kospi decreased by 2.17% at 7:30 am CET. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite declined 1.96% at 7:13 am CET. At the same time, the Shenzhen Composite fell 3.61%. On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 3.52% at 7:29 am CET. The dollar went up by 0.12% compared to the Japanese yen at 7:28 am CET, trading for ¥114.9560.
