Morning Report 24 Feb 22: European sharemarkets fell on Thursday as investors responded to the invasion of Ukraine

Banks (down 8.2%) and automakers fell most although the oil and gas sector fell by only 0.3%. Shares in Societe Generale fell by 12.2%. Defence stocks rose with BAE Systems in the UK up by 5.2%. Renewable energy was another bright spot on markets. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 3.3% to 9-month lows. The German Dax index lost 4.0% with the UK FTSE index lower by 3.9%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto fell by 1.8% and BHP fell by 7.0% (traded ex-dividend).

US sharemarkets were mixed on Thursday with gains in some technology 'megacaps' limiting losses. Financials fell 1.2% with banks down 2.5% as bond yields fell. Shares in Amazon rose by 4.5% with Microsoft up 5.1%. At the US close, the Dow Jones index was up by 92 points or 0.3% after being down 859 points. The S&P 500 index rose 1.5%; the Nasdaq rose 436 points or 3.3%.

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