(Reuters) – European shares were set for their worst day in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as worries about the war in Ukraine, expectations of aggressive monetary policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve and mixed earnings kept investors on edge.
The pan-European STOXX 600 lost 1.0% after dropping 0.9% last week. Travel and construction shares led losses in early trade.
Russian forces have launched their anticipated offensive in eastern Ukraine, attempting to push through defences along almost the entire front line early on Tuesday in what Ukrainian officials described as the second phase of the war.
All European regional markets were in the red.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard repeated his case for increasing interest rates to 3.5% by the end of the year on Monday, saying U.S. inflation is “far too high”.
Scor fell 2.6% after the French reinsurer said it expects to book charges for claims related to the Ukraine conflict.
(Reporting by Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)