BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks tumbled on Tuesday to hit a seven-month low after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two breakaway areas of Ukraine that he had earlier recognized as independent.
Calling Russia's move as an 'act of war', the U.K. and several western allies have threatened sanctions on the country.
Russian sanctions could have implications for global gas markets, particularly in Europe, which is heavily reliant on Russian gas. Europe gets nearly 40 percent of its natural gas and 25 percent of its oil from Russia.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was down 0.8 percent at 451.15, after having hit as low as 445.95 earlier in the session.
The German DAX was down 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 index fell about 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down about 0.4 percent.
Banks Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank gave up 2-3 percent.
HSBC declined 1.5 percent despite the bank more than doubling its full-year pre-tax profit.
German automaker Volkswagen surged 6.6 percent after saying it is in advanced discussions with Porsche Automobil Holding SE about a potential IPO of the luxury carmaker.
Telecoms company Telefónica Deutschland lost 2.5 percent after extending the contract of Chief Executive Officer Markus Haas by three years.
Beverage firm Coca-Cola HBC slumped nearly 6 percent despite posting annual profit ahead of market expectations.
Chilean miner Antofagasta climbed 2.2 percent after posting record full-year profit.
In economic releases, the headline German IFO business climate index improved to 98.9 in February from 96 (revised from 95.7 in January).
Separate data showed U.K. public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks showed a surplus of GBP 2.9 billion in January, which was GBP 5.4 billion less borrowing than in January 2021.
Nonetheless, this was still a GBP 7.0 billion smaller surplus than in January 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic.
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