- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
World stocks plunge, oil tops $100 as Russia invades Ukraine
Global equities tumbled on Thursday and oil prices breached $100 for the first time in more than seven years after key crude producer Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, accelerating fears of a major war in eastern Europe.
Asian, European, then US stock markets nosedived -- with Frankfurt and Paris both shedding as much as five percent during part of the trading session -- as investors fled risky equities, while haven investment, gold, rose to over $1,923 per ounce.
After weeks of warnings from the United States and other powers, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a wide-ranging offensive into its neighbour, sparking fury from world leaders and vows to ramp up sanctions on Moscow.
In reaction, oil rocketed, with European benchmark Brent prices briefly cruising past $105 per barrel for the first time since 2014, while aluminium and wheat surged to record peaks on fears over output from major exporter Russia.
"The latest twist in the Russia-Ukraine crisis is likely to keep commodity prices elevated over the coming weeks and months," analysts at Capital Economics said.
"And if the situation spirals into a more serious and wide-ranging conflict between Russia and the West, commodity prices could rise further from here."
- 'Pulled rug from markets' -
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned the conflict would have repercussions for the global economic recovery.
Frankfurt stocks finished 4.0 percent lower, and both London and Paris ended the day with a loss of 3.8 percent, as fears grew of a broader conflict.
On Wall Street, the Dow slumped around 1.7 percent in late morning trade.
"The escalation of tensions arising from the Russian action has pulled the rug from markets, adding to an already brittle environment in the face of rising inflation and interest rate concerns," Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said.
Asian equities plunged, with Hong Kong, Sydney, Mumbai, Singapore and Wellington down at least three percent, while there were steep losses in Tokyo and Shanghai.
Analysts pointed to fear of the unknown for investors, especially over retaliatory sanctions by the West, as US President Joe Biden met G7 allies to hammer out a raft of new sanctions against Russia.
- Russia-exposed firms hit -
Companies with the biggest presence in Russia were among those whose share prices were getting hammered.
Shares in Russian metal giants Polymetal and Evraz tanked by 38 percent and 30 percent respectively in London.
"With tough incoming sanctions expected, their businesses are likely to take a major hit with little respite in sight given the seriousness of the situation," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter.
French carmaker Renault, which owns a majority stake in Russia's Avtovaz, the maker of the Lada, saw its shares skid about nine percent.
Also in Paris trading, Societe Generale dived about 12 percent on concerns over its Russian retail banking subsidiary Rosbank.
"There will be pressure on (European) banking stocks, particularly banks in France and Austria as they have the largest exposure to Russian loans," added Streeter.
Germany's Deutsche Bank also shed 12.5 percent.
Other haven assets profited, with the Swiss franc hitting a five-year peak versus the euro.
The ruble fell 6.8 percent to 87.8 rubles to the dollar, while the Moscow stock exchange's MOEX index plunged 33.3 percent after suspending trading early in the day.
"The Russian ruble has hit a record low today, and could have further to run in the days ahead as events unfold, and the impact of any sanctions become clearer," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
- Gas prices spike -
European natural gas prices vaulted higher on disruption worries, particularly after Germany this week halted the approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia.
Europe's reference Dutch TTF gas price jumped to more than 134 euros per megawatt hour.
Domestic energy prices had already rocketed in Europe during recent months, fuelling decades-high inflation that has caused central banks to raise or prepare to raise interest rates, which could in turn slow the economic recovery.
- Key figures around 1630 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 7.4 percent at $103.97 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.5 percent at $97.12 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.7 percent at 32,580.46 points
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 3.6 percent at 3,829.16
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 3.8 percent at 7,211.99 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 4.0 percent at 14,052.10 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 3.8 percent at 6,521.05 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 25,970.82 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 3.2 percent at 22,901.56 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.7 percent at 3,429.96 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1142 from $1.1307 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3341 from $1.3544
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.46 pence from 83.48 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.41 yen from 115.01 yen
burs-kjm/rl
P.Stevenson--AMWN