Asia markets sink as tensions between Ukraine and Russia climb

(CNN) — Markets across Asia tumbled on Tuesday as tensions between Ukraine and Russia continued to escalate. New concerns over China’s tech crackdown further dented the sentiment.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.7%, and Korea’s Kospi lost 1.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 were both down 1%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.7%, the biggest daily loss in five months.

The plunge in Asia was preceded by a similar drop for US stock futures earlier on Monday evening local time. Dow futures dropped 1.4%. S&P 500 futures were down 1.3%, while Nasdaq futures shed 2.1%.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two separatist pro-Moscow regions in eastern Ukraine after recognizing their independence on Monday. The move to recognize breakaway eastern Ukrainian territories as independent appears to be the opening salvo of a larger potential military operation targeting Ukraine, nearly a dozen US and western officials tell CNN.

“It feels like the situation can dramatically escalate at any moment and that’s going to keep investors on edge for now,” wrote Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a research note on Tuesday. “We may well be on the brink of something terrible happening and that’s continuing to feed into the negativity in the markets,” he added.

Chinese Tech Stocks hammered

Worries about a renewed tech crackdown by Beijing have also dealt a blow to some of the biggest Chinese companies in the sector.

The Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks 30 largest tech companies listed in the city, lost 1.9% on Tuesday, down for a third day in a row.

On Friday, Chinese authorities released new rules ordering food delivery platforms to cut service fees they charge businesses.

Online food delivery platform Meituan fell 5% on Tuesday. The stock has plunged 23% since Friday.

Alibaba Group, which owns food-delivery platform Ele.me, dropped 3%.

Social media and gaming giant Tencent fell as much as 3%. It closed down 0.1%. The firm also holds a major stake in Meituan.

Oil surges

On the oil front, the uncertainty about Ukraine was further reflected by a spike in futures. US crude futures jumped 5.3% to trade at $95.89 per barrel. Brent crude surged 3.5% to $98.71 per barrel.

A summit between US President Joe Biden and Putin is unlikely, a senior administration official told reporters, following intelligence and indications on the ground that Russia is likely to take military action in neighboring Ukraine.

Markets were closed in the United States on Monday due to the Presidents Day holiday. Last Friday, the Dow closed down nearly 233 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the day with losses of 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively. All three indexes finished last week in the red for the second straight week.

This story was first published on CNN.com, “Asia markets sink as tensions between Ukraine and Russia climb”