Europe midday: Shares slide on escalation of Ukraine conflict
European shares had slipped into the red by midday on Thursday as crude oil prices fell on reports the US was set to release strategic reserves and Russia prepared to launch further attacks on east Ukraine.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.23% with all major regional bourses lower. The UK’s energy-heavy FTSE 100 index slipped into the red despite official data showing Britain's economy grew more quickly than previously thought in the fourth quarter.
Oil prices fell as traders waited for an expected big release of reserves by President Joe Biden designed to stem inflation in the US economy. Eyes were also on a meeting of Opec+ producers on Thursday.
Biden is close to announcing the third - and possibly biggest - release of emergency oil stocks since November, according to reports. The release is expected to last several months and comprise up to 1m barrels of oil per day, the Financial Times said.
"Opec+ is expected to announce plans to stick to the script by gradually increasing oil production, despite calls for a more aggressive supply release to help alleviate the energy crisis which has sent oil prices soaring," said Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor.
"Ahead of the US election later this year, President Biden is under pressure to take measures against rising inflation and to reduce US energy dependence on external factors such as OPEC+’s decisions and the Ukraine war. Unsurprisingly US crude is selling off more aggressively with WTI shedding more than 6.5% while Brent crude is down over 5.9%, breaking below support at $110 a barrel.”
Shares in East European budget airline Wizz Air gained on the news, along with rival Ryanair.
Sir Martin Sorrell-owned S4 Capital fell further after Wednesday’s share price plunge after auditor PwC said it was unable to complete “the work necessary” to sign off on full year results that were due out yesterday.
Sweden's H&M slumped after reporting a smaller-than-expected profit for its first quarter.
Food and beverage ingredients provider Tate & Lyle gained after buying Chinese prebiotic dietary fibre business Quantum Hi-Tech Biological for $237m.