European markets choppy as Ukraine-Russia conflict continues

LONDON — European stocks were uncertain on Wednesday as the geopolitical crisis between Russia and Ukraine continues

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.3% by early afternoon after dropping 0.9% at the open. Autos fell 1.7% while oil and gas stocks jumped 4.1% on surging oil prices

The choppy trade in Europe came after a mixed close in Asia-Pacific markets, with shares in the region dented by concerns over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict

The war between the neighboring countries in Europe is leading to a surge in oil prices with international benchmark Brent crude futures up around 7.5% at $112.86 per barrel, their highest in seven years. U.S. crude futures also saw big gains, rising around 7.5% to $111.17 per barrel

That’s despite the the International Energy Agency saying Tuesday it will release 60 million barrels of oil from global reserves, in a bid to ease the current supply constraint

European stocks closed firmly lower on Tuesday as a significant Russian military convoy headed toward Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. A Russian airstrike hit Kyiv’s main television tower on Monday afternoon, killing five people. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to attack Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city

Earnings in Europe came from Atos and Signify with data releases including the euro zone’s inflation rate in February and Germany’s latest unemployment figures for February

In terms of individual share price movement, Neste shares jumped more than 17% to lead the Stoxx 600 after the Finnish engineering company announced a joint venture with U.S. oil company Marathon to produce renewable fuels globally

At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson fell more than 13% as it juggles an unpopular acquisition and the fallout from a 2019 investigation which found compliance breaches in the company’s operations in Iraq