Stocks fall as Ukraine crisis deepens, oil prices rally By Reuters

2/2© Reuters. Investors sit in front of a board showing stock information at a brokerage house on the first day of trade in China since the Lunar New Year, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China February 3, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS 2/2

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares took a beating in early trade on Friday and oil prices jumped as a report of a nuclear power plant on fire amid continued fierce fighting between Ukraine and Russian troops further unnerved investors.

RIA News agency cited the Ukrainian atomic energy ministry as saying that a generating unit at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, has been hit during an attack by Russian troops.

S&P 500 futures shed 1.6% and Nasdaq futures lost 1.8%. Overnight, Wall Street ended lower as investors remained on edge over the Ukraine crisis, while rising prices of commodities also weighed on market sentiment.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.8% and traded near the day's lows. Markets across Asia were in a sea of red, with Japan down 2.3%, South Korea fell 1.4% and commodities-heavy Australia also lost 1.2%. Oil prices jumped on Friday after ending steady a day earlier, with the market also focused on whether the OPEC+ producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, would increase output from January.

The euro shed further ground and was set for its worst week versus the dollar in nine months. It fell 0.44% to $1.1022.

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