Markets are spooked: FTSE 100 falls to two-week low
The FTSE 100 share index fell 108 points at the open, now down 1.1 per cent at 6,733.
Cyclical shares have taken the biggest hit, as investors lose their appetite for risk, in the face of the escalating crisis in Ukraine.
Other European markets are also in the red. The German DAX fell 1.8 per cent at the open, the CAC 40 shed 1.7 per cent and Spain’s IBEX fell 1.9 per cent.
Miners are the biggest fallers this morning. BHP Billiton shed 1.5 per cent, Rio Tinto lost 2.3 per cent and Anglo American's fell almost two per cent in early trading.
Commodities hit a six-month high as concern that energy and food supplies will be disrupted by the worsening situation grew.
Gas prices jumped to a 16-month high, with Ukraine the main transit route from Russia to the West.
And the gold price jumped $20 per ounce to $1,347 per ounce.
Companies with Russia investment – pharmaceutical firm Stada, tyre maker Nokian, Societe Generale and Metro – are all losing this morning.
Source: Google