London open: FTSE slides as Russia-Ukraine tensions rattle markets

At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 1.5% lower at 7,550.22. At the same time, oil and gas prices surged after the US warned that Russia could invade Ukraine "at any moment".

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "Geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine have sparked nervousness at the start of the week with European markets opening in the red, falling to three-week lows driven by travel & leisure and the banking sector. The weekend has provided no let up for markets after Wall Street’s sell-off on Friday when the S&P 500 slumped nearly 2%.

"The FTSE 100 is under pressure, heading back down towards 7,500 as the next major support level.

"Fears about escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine have pushed oil to fresh seven-year highs. Brent crude has pushed above key resistance now support at $95 a barrel as $100 looks increasingly likely considering possible supply disruptions ahead. An invasion of Ukraine would likely push oil prices sharply higher, beyond $100 at a time when the market is already in rally mode driven by an imbalance between demand and supply."

In equity markets, Russian steelmaker Evraz tumbled more than 30%. Scholar noted that Evraz was already under pressure before geopolitical tensions came about after new rules on Russian exports weighed on sales of its steel products last year.

Travel-related shares were in the red, with BA and Iberia owner IAG and engine maker Rolls-Royce down sharply. Budget airlines Wizz and easyJet, cruise operator Carnival and travel firm Tui also suffered heavy losses.

Elsewhere, banks were under the cosh, with Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds among the worst performers on the FTSE 100.

JD Sports was also weaker after the Competition and Markets Authority fined it and Footasylum £4.7m for breaching the rules around a merger blocked by the watchdog.

On the upside, precious metals miner Fresnillo was the top gainer on the FTSE 100, while Endeavour Mining and Centamin also gained as gold prices spiked higher on safe-haven demand.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,550.22 -1.45%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,678.84 -1.68%
techMARK (TASX) 4,365.67 -1.60%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 635.80p 2.15%
BAE Systems (BA.) 605.00p 0.53%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,380.50p 0.36%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 500.60p 0.04%
Meggitt (MGGT) 747.80p -0.03%
Avast (AVST) 623.00p -0.06%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 636.00p -0.16%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,881.00p -0.22%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,614.40p -0.31%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,062.00p -0.33%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Evraz (EVR) 298.70p -32.83%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 161.58p -7.48%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,659.00p -5.00%
Barclays (BARC) 196.22p -4.79%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 115.28p -4.65%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 51.75p -4.10%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 243.30p -3.83%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,122.00p -3.73%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,774.50p -3.66%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 537.60p -3.66%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 193.00p 2.99%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 93.10p 2.02%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,785.00p 2.00%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 212.60p 1.92%
Pantheon International (PIN) 320.50p 1.58%
ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,236.00p 1.31%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 372.00p 1.14%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 117.40p 0.34%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 779.50p 0.19%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 132.40p 0.15%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,214.00p -8.77%
Carnival (CCL) 1,469.60p -7.16%
Darktrace (DARK) 382.40p -5.86%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 271.50p -5.17%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 148.10p -5.06%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,105.50p -4.57%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 39.78p -4.40%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 272.00p -4.29%
Trainline (TRN) 227.00p -4.22%
easyJet (EZJ) 676.80p -4.14%