The Gulf and European stock exchanges fell in trading on Thursday, amid mounting investor fears after Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine, and the Turkish lira fell again amid these tensions.
At dawn on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a military operation in the Donbass region, and said in a televised speech, "The confrontation between Russia and nationalist forces in Ukraine is inevitable."
At 07:12 UTC, the Saudi Stock Exchange - the largest market in the Arab world - fell, with its main index "TASI" dropping 1.95% to 11,282.99 points, amid a decline of 199 shares out of 211 listed companies.
The Abu Dhabi stock exchange fell by 1.1% to 8999.8 points, while the Dubai Stock Exchange fell by 1.97% to 3,269 points.
The Qatar Stock Exchange index fell by 1.4% to 12568 points, and at a time when the Kuwait Stock Exchange fell by 0.99% to 8240 points, the general market index fell by 1.05% to 7,580 points.
The Bahrain Stock Exchange fell by 1.03% to 1944.04 points, while the Muscat Stock Exchange decreased by 0.12% to 4,039 points.
In Europe, the stock exchanges recorded a sharp decline with the start of trading today, Thursday, against the backdrop of the Russian attack on Ukraine as well. The London Stock Exchange fell about 3%, while the Paris and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges recorded losses of more than 4%.
Turkish lira falling
Meanwhile, the Turkish lira fell 2.6% against the dollar on Thursday, its lowest level in two months, after Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its coast.
The lira recorded 14.1990 against the dollar at 07:26 UTC, after its broad stability last month, and retreated from the closing level yesterday, Wednesday, which recorded 13.8350 against the dollar.