Asia report: Stocks tumble as Russia invades Ukraine

Stocks were on the back foot across the board in Asia on Thursday, as Russia began a military invasion of Ukraine after months of build-up.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.81% at 25,970.82, as the safe-haven yen strengthened 0.23% on the dollar to last trade at JPY 114.74.

It was a negative day for the benchmark’s major components, with robotics specialist Fanuc down 5.42%, Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing off 3.82%, and technology investing giant SoftBank Group 6.82% lower.

The broader Topix index was 1.25% weaker by the end of trading in Tokyo, closing at 1,857.58.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was 1.7% lower at 3,429.96, while the smaller, technology-centric Shenzhen Composite was off 2.36% at 2,282.44.

South Korea’s Kospi was 2.6% lower at 2,648.80, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong tumbled 3.21% to 22,901.56.

Technology shares were in focus in the special administrative region, with artificial intelligence (AI) company SenseTime Group tumbling 11.65%.

Those losses came after it was announced that SenseTime’s weighting in the Hang Seng Tech Index would be 0.24% on its inclusion in March, revised down from a planned 3.94%.

The blue-chip technology stocks were on the back foot in Seoul as well, with Samsung Electronics down 2.05%, and SK Hynix losing 4.67%.

“Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine as Russian troops landed in Odessa while others crossed the border into Kharkiv,” said Swissquote senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya of the global situation on Thursday morning.

“There are attacks against 10 Ukrainian regions and the Guardian reported that there have been at least seven powerful airstrikes near an airport outside Kyiv where Ukraine’s military fighter bombers are kept.”

Ozkardeskaya said the situation was evolving “extremely fast”, with air raid sirens sounding in the capital Kyiv, and Ukraine’s president calling for martial law in a national address.

“At this point, it’s impossible to bet on any scenario - we can only monitor closely the latest developments and stand ready for more volatility.

“The VIX index is around the 30 level, and should spike higher within the next couple of hours.”

Oil prices surged past the $100 level as the invasion of Ukraine unfolded overnight, with Brent crude last up 7.92% at $104.51 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate up 7.67% at $99.16.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 2.99% at 6,990.60, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 was 3.31% lower at 11,732.55.

The down under dollars were both weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.93% at AUD 1.3954, and the Kiwi retreating 1.08% to NZD 1.4926.