FX.co ★ European markets dive amid sanctions against Russia

Major European stock indexes are trading in negative territory on Monday as market players gauge the impact of the Western sanctions against Russia.

At the time of writing, the STOXX Europe 600 lost 1.38%, reaching 447.26 points.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 slid down by 1.12% to 7,405.13 points. In France, the CAC 40 fell by 2.3% to 6,565.83 points, and in Germany, the DAX declined by 1.95% to 14,281.64 points.

Last weekend, G7 nations have agreed on disconnecting major Russian banks from SWIFT. Furthermore, the EU has frozen the assets of the Bank of Russia. On Monday, stocks of major European banks have dropped by 5.7% on average.

Many Russian state companies have encountered restrictions on attracting foreign capital. Western nations have enacted export control measures for high-tech goods. Germany has stopped the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Companies with ties to Russia have suffered the biggest losses during the session. Shares of Austria's largest bank, Raiffeisen Bank AG, dived by 18.23%. ING Groep N.V. lost 10%, Deutsche Bank declined by 8%, and the Societe Generale fell by 9.5%

Shares of BP dropped by 6.3% following its decision to quit Russia and abandon its 19.75% stake in Rosneft.

Earlier, Norway's Equinor announced it was pulling out of Russia as well, abandoning its investments in the country. Equinor's stock has gained 1.4% on Monday.

Shares of France's Renault, which owns the Russian automaker AutoVAZ, lost 9.3%.

The UK-Russian mining company Polymetal International Plc nosedived by 48.6%.

Shares of German arms companies Rheinmetall and BAE Systems jumped by 27% and 14% respectively, following the recent statements by Olaf Scholz. The German chancellor announced Germany would create a €100 billion defense fund to bolster its armed forces.

On Friday, major stock indexes rebounded by 3% after its massive drop on Thursday. Major Russian commodity companies recovered some of its losses. Polymetal International Plc and Evraz Plc finished last week in positive territory, adding 17% and 19.5% respectively. Petropavlovsk Plc fell by 5.1% in a second straight-day of losses.

The STOXX Europe 600 gained 3.32% on Friday, reaching 453.53 points.