Australia: Shares see worst day in 1-1/2 years as Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens

[BENGALURU] Australian shares closed 3 per cent lower on Thursday (Feb 24), recording their worst day in nearly one-and-a-half years, as geopolitical tensions heightened after Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on Ukraine's south coast, according to officials and media reports.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended at 6,990.6, with its drop marking its worst session since Sep 4, 2020. The benchmark is also on track for its first weekly loss this month.

Global markets plunged after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had authorised a special military operation in eastern Ukraine.

Back home, miners led the losses on the benchmark, falling as much as 5.2 per cent in their worst intraday slump in 5 months. Sector heavyweight BHP Group declined 6.9 per cent and Rio Tinto lost 3.8 per cent.

The "Big Four" banks slid 2.1-3.4 per cent to lead financial stocks down 2.8 per cent.

Energy stocks slipped 1.8 per cent, with Woodside Petroleum and Santos retreating 2.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

Technology stocks fell 6.4 per cent to be the biggest percentage losers among sub-indexes.

"When the market drops to such steep levels, many margin calls push investors to either put some cash in or to sell down some stock to get their buffer," said Brad Smoling, managing director of Smoling Stockbroking.

Such forced margin call selling, Smoling said, tend to go on for a while before the market stabilises. "Unless we start seeing Dow futures going really positive, we could be in for a lot more sell-offs," he added.

Gold stocks were the sole gainers, rising 4.3 per cent after gold prices jumped to their highest in more than a year.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index slid 3.3 per cent to finish at 11,732.55, its lowest since September 2020. REUTERS