THE UK stock market has plummeted and oil prices have surged above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, following Russian President Vladimir Putin launch of an invasion of Ukraine.
The FTSE-100 index of leading shares was at 10.15am trading down 206.81 at 7291.37 points.
Russ Mould, investment director at stockbroker AJ Bell, said: “The surge in the oil price is terrible news for businesses and consumers, and fundamentally this clarifies one of the key impacts of the Russia/Ukraine war – it will serve to further stoke inflation.
“Not only will energy bills keep going up, but food prices look set to jump even higher. Ukraine and Russia are both big food suppliers and any disruption to supplies will force buyers to seek alternative sources, which could jack up prices.”
He added: “Investor sentiment was already fragile because of rising inflation and the upwards direction of travel for interest rates, but confirmation of war and the associated alarming news headlines around the world are likely to see equity markets go through a difficult period for longer than people might have previously expected.”