Australia Stocks tumble on Ukraine crisis

The Australian share market finished session lower on Tuesday, 22 February 2022, as sentiment deteriorated further with the Ukraine crisis coming to a critical stage.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 tumbled 72.35 points, or 1%, to 7,161.28. The broader All Ordinaries index dropped by 84.82 points, or 1.13%, to 7,422.17.

The top performing stocks in this index were COCHLEAR and COSTA GROUP., up 9% and 8.7% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in this index were NANOSONICS and LIONTOWN RESOURCES, down 13.14% and 10.77% respectively.

Shares in Australia market declined amid escalating geopolitical tension around Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin statement that he would recognize the independence of two Russian-led breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - of Ukraine.

Investors worry that a war between Ukraine and Russia could prolong elevated inflation in developed economies by disrupting supplies of important commodities. Russia is among the world's largest suppliers of oil, as well as the biggest exporter of wheat, and a major metals producer. Ukraine is a major world supplier of corn and wheat.

Also, investors continue to try to assess by how much and how quickly the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to tame inflation. Some Fed officials have pushed back against expectations that they will begin raising interest rates in March with a larger increase in the benchmark rate, while others have left the door open.

Financial stocks were the biggest drag to the benchmark, with the "Big Four" banks sliding between 1% and 2.1%.

Miners retreated, with heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto declining 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively.

Technology stocks were also in the negative, with Australia-listed shares of Block slumped as much as 7.3% to a record low, while Xero and Wisetech Global dropped 3.1% and 4%, respectively.

CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.242 following a recent bounce from below 95.8. The Australian dollar was at $0.7202, off levels above $0.72 seen recently.

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