European stock markets slid into the close on Friday, as investors sold off ahead of the weekend on fears the crisis in Ukraine could escalate. Earlier in the day, indexes pared losses after the highly anticipated U.S. nonfarm-payrolls report beat expectations.TMore broadly, most European stock markets closed in deep-red territory, ending a week that was marked by increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The crisis intensified Friday afternoon after the part state-owned Gazprom said it might halt gas deliveries to Ukraine as it did in 2009, because the country hasn’t paid for its February supply. Gazprom also said Ukraine owes it $1.89 billion for gas, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. and the European Union has condemned Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and earlier in the week unveiled a set of sanctions to punish Russia for the intervention. France’s foreign minister Laurent Fabius said reportedly on Friday that a second round of sanctions could be on the cards if the first round doesn’t work.
Chatter that big U.S. pension funds were re balancing their asset portfolios by dumping equities and instead moving into bonds, also appeared to weigh on the European stock markets.
The U.S. and the European Union has condemned Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and earlier in the week unveiled a set of sanctions to punish Russia for the intervention. France’s foreign minister Laurent Fabius said reportedly on Friday that a second round of sanctions could be on the cards if the first round doesn’t work.
Chatter that big U.S. pension funds were re balancing their asset portfolios by dumping equities and instead moving into bonds, also appeared to weigh on the European stock markets.