Putin’s war
Possible Russia oil embargo: Asian stock markets collapse
People with mouth and nose protection walk past an electronic stock exchange board that displays the Japanese Nikkei stock index. Photo: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also worrying investors in Asia. The stock markets in both Japan and China are falling sharply.
The West’s deliberations on a possible freeze on imports of oil from Russia weighed heavily on Asia’s leading exchange in Tokyo at the start of the week. Japan, which is poor in raw materials and the third largest economy in the world ahead of Germany, is dependent on oil imports.
On the Tokyo stock exchange, the Nikkei, which comprises 225 leading stocks, was listed a good hour after the start of trading at a sharp drop of 842.13 points or 3.24 percent from the intermediate level of 25,143.34 points. According to market participants, there is great concern in the market about a severe shortage of energy supplies and an increase in energy prices. The price of Middle East oil futures on the Tokyo Futures Exchange briefly rose to its highest level since August 2008.
Hong Kong and Shanghai are also affected
After the slump on the leading stock exchange in Tokyo due to concerns about a possible freeze on oil imports from Russia, the stock market in Hong Kong also plummeted. Half an hour after the start of trading, the Hang Seng Index was down 4.46 percent at 20,927 points.
The stock exchanges in China, which usually develop somewhat independently of world events, opened only slightly lower. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.26 percent at 3438 points. The Component Index in Shenzhen started with a minus of 0.69 percent at 12,930 points.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had brought new punitive measures against Moscow into play: Washington is advising European allies on a possible ban on imports of oil from Russia. “We are now speaking with our European partners and allies to examine in a coordinated manner the prospect of a ban on Russian oil imports,” Blinken said on Sunday.