Europe Markets: Financials skid in Europe after Russia sanctions, while defense contractors surge on German buying spree

February 28, 2022

European stocks slumped on Monday, responding to a ratcheting up on sanctions against Russia as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued.

The Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP,
-1.24%
fell 1.3% in early trade, as the financial sector reeled from the news the U.S., European Union and the U.K. agreed to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system.

The German DAX
DAX,
-2.07%
and French CAC 40
PX1,
-2.31%
each fell about 2%, while the U.K. FTSE 100
UKX,
-1.12%
lost 1%.

ING
INGA,
-8.07%
shares dropped 8%, while Deutsche Bank
DBK,
-6.57%
and Societe Generale
GLE,
-7.27%
each dropped 6%.

BP
BP,
-4.54%
shares fell 5% as the oil giant said it’s taking a $25 billion charge to exit its 19.75% stake in Rosneft. Renault
RNO,
-7.82%,
the owner of Russian carmaker Avtovaz, dropped 8%.

There were notable defense gainers as Germany said it will set up a special €100 billion fund to upgrade its armed forces. Rheinmetall
RHM,
+32.88%
shares jumped 44% and BAE Systems
BA,
+12.59%
rose 13%.

The yield on the 10-year German bund
TMBMKDE-10Y,
0.170%
fell 6 basis points to 0.17%.

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