Tokyo (awp/afp) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange fell on Monday morning as oil prices continued their dizzying rise, with Western sanctions against Russian hydrocarbons now openly on the table in the face of the war in Ukraine which is intensifying.
The flagship Nikkei index fell 3.03% to 25,197.50 points shortly after 01:00 GMT, while the broader Topix index dropped 2.91% to 1,791.25 points.
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the United States and the European Union were “very actively” discussing the possibility of banning Russian oil imports in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Even if Russian oil exports are not sanctioned for the moment in theory, they already find almost no takers, which greatly disrupts the global supply of black gold.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea thus came close to 140 dollars on Sunday around 11:00 p.m. GMT, close to its absolute record of 147.50 dollars reached in July 2008, before falling again while remaining in strong progression, like the barrel American WTI.
“Barring an end to hostilities, there is little on the horizon to slow” the rise in oil prices, according to a National Australia Bank note released Monday.
On the side of values
SONY AND HONDA TEAM UP: Sony (-1.44% to 11,220 yen) and Honda (-4.57% to 3,068 yen) announced on Friday the creation of a joint venture this year to design, develop and produce electric vehicles, with a view to starting the commercial phase as early as 2025.
This alliance of two groups with complementary strengths was well received by analysts, but their securities were weighed down on Monday like the entire Tokyo market (except energy stocks) by the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war for the world economy. .
On the side of currencies and oil
The euro fell sharply against the yen, at the rate of one euro for 124.64 yen around 1:20 a.m. GMT against 125.48 yen on Friday at 9:00 p.m. GMT.
And the European currency fell to 1.0840 dollars, against 1.0928 dollars on Friday.
The dollar also strengthened against the yen, at the rate of one dollar for 114.99 yen against 114.82 yen at the end of last week.
On the oil market, the price of a barrel of American WTI jumped 6% to 122.62 dollars after 0120 GMT and the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea soared 6.64% to 125.95 dollars .
etb/am