- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
Markets tumble, oil rises on Ukraine conflict fears
Asian and European markets sank and oil prices rallied Monday after the United States warned Russia could attack Ukraine within days as diplomatic efforts to prevent a war appeared to fail, while fears over inflation were also keeping traders on edge.
The losses matched a sell-off in New York and Europe on Friday as Western powers prepare for a conflict in eastern Europe after Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed calls by US counterpart Joe Biden and others to pull back.
Governments have told their citizens to leave Ukraine and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned last week that an invasion could begin "any day now" and would likely start with "a significant barrage of missiles and bomb attacks".
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was preparing to visit Kyiv and Moscow to try to head off the crisis.
The prospect of a conflict compounded the gloomy mood on trading floors after data Thursday showed US inflation hit a forecast-busting 7.5 percent in January, ramping up pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates by more than expected.
After sharp Wall Street losses on Friday, the dip continued in Asia.
Tokyo and Mumbai each shed more than two percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Jakarta, Wellington and Taipei were at least one percent down. Singapore and Bangkok were also off, though Sydney and Manila rose.
Paris and Frankfurt plunged more than three percent in early trade, while London was 1.9 percent off.
A "flight to safety for all markets will be the first order" if Russia invades, said Wai Ho Leong, a strategist with Modular Asset Management in Singapore.
"The impact on inflation will go beyond oil and gas," he warned. "For the rest of the world, it is potentially a massive food shock -- as Ukraine is a major exporter of grain -- mainly corn and wheat."
Wheat futures are up about eight percent since the start of the month.
Eli Lee at Bank of Singapore added that the volatility that had characterised markets so far this year would probably continue.
"In the scenario of military action, we could see a spike in oil and gas prices, which would exacerbate the issue of inflation over the near term, and result in a market-wide risk-off move," he wrote in a note.
"This would inject volatility into risk assets and cause a bid for safe havens such as the Japanese yen, the US dollar and gold."
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped, closing in on the $100-a-barrel mark last seen in 2014, as investors grow increasingly worried about supplies in the event of a war.
The crisis comes with crude already tight, owing to a pick-up in demand as economies reopen after the coronavirus pandemic and people return to a more normal life.
- Key figures around 0840 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.2 percent at 27,079.59 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,556.57 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,428.88 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.9 percent at 7,518.88
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $93.86 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.6 percent at $95.02 per barrel
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 115.18 yen from 115.48 yen late Friday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1310 from $1.1351
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3504 from $1.3564
Euro/pound: UP at 83.73 pence from 83.64 pence
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.4 percent at 34,738.06 (close)
-- Bloomberg News contributed to this story --
A.P.Maia--PC