Heavy losses in the European markets in anticipation of Putin’s announcements

European stocks closed higher on Monday amid new warnings from Western officials about the danger of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and after the Russian president announced that he would decide today whether to recognize the two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

At the same time, the Kremlin has taken a cautious stance on the prospect of a meeting between President Putin and US President Joe Biden aimed at de-escalating the crisis.

On the board, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, although found to be gaining 0.6% in initial trading, closed with a loss of 1.3% at 454.81 points.

The German DAX plunged 2.1% to 14,731.12 points, the French CAC 40 fell 2% to 6,788.34 points, while the British FTSE 100 closed with lower losses of 0.4% to 7,484.33 points.

In the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB closed with heavy losses of 1.7%, while the Spanish IBEX 35 fell 1.2%.

With geopolitical tensions on Ukraine’s border effectively monopolizing the interest of the international investment community in recent times, the news that Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden have agreed to meet to discuss the issue has sparked a wave of optimism. was reflected in a modest increase at the beginning of trading.

The White House announced that a meeting would take place “only if there is no invasion of Ukraine”, while the Kremlin hastened to clarify for its part that there are no “concrete plans” for a summit. Attention was then drawn to an emergency meeting of Russia’s Security Council, with President Putin announcing that he would decide today whether or not to recognize the separatists’ territories.