Global stock markets bounce on Russia sanctions

Global markets rebounded as investor concerns eased about the severity of sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Coordinated Western sanctions against Russia have targeted its banks but left its energy sector largely untouched.

After sharp falls on Thursday, stock markets in the UK and Europe jumped more than 3%. US exchanges also rose.

Oil prices reversed early gains on Friday and fell by more than 2% but are still trading near seven-year highs.

Brent crude - the international benchmark for oil prices - dropped below $98 a barrel.
Stock markets in Europe and Asia rebounded from falls earlier in the week as investors assessed sanctions on Russia by the UK, the US, the EU and others.

While the sanctions against Russia include freezing bank assets and cutting off state-owned enterprises, they stopped short of disconnecting Russia from the Swift international banking system or targeting its oil and gas exports, which some analysts said had helped stock markets recover.

The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 3.9% and stock markets in Germany and France closed more than 3.5% higher.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were up more than 2% at midday, while the Nasdaq was 1.3% higher, extending gains from Thursday.

On the London market, one of the top risers was Evraz, a mining firm with major operations in Russia and Ukraine. Billionaire Roman Abramovich owns a sizeable chunk of the company.

While shares in the company were up more than 17% on Friday, they have fallen 30% over the past five days.

After an earlier global sell-off of shares, investors are now "looking for bargains", said Jane Foley, head of currency strategy at Rabobank.

Ms Foley told the BBC's Today programme there were many firms in emerging markets which export agricultural products and raw materials such as metals, so "perhaps they're going to be doing well in this crisis, because other countries will be looking to buy their commodities from other markets that aren't Russian".

SOURCE: BBC NEWS