Asian shares fall as Russian forces pound Ukraine capital

BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks fell Tuesday in Asia and oil prices slid further as Russian forces pounded the Ukraine capital ahead of another round of talks between the two sides.

Anxiety over the war in Ukraine and an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates are keeping global financial markets on edge.

The London Metal Exchange said trading in nickel will resume Wednesday, just a week after it was suspended when the price of the metal skyrocketed to over $100,000 per ton.

The announcement followed a notice from Tsingshan Holding Group, a Chinese metals trader, that it had struck a deal with a consortium of its creditors on a “standstill arrangement” such that the banks would not make margin calls or close out their positions against Tsingshan while the company is resolving its nickel margin and settlement requirements.

Russia is the world's No. 3 producer of nickel. It's price and that of many other commodities has surged on speculation over possible disruptions to supplies as Russia contends with widening economic sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.

Uncertainty about whether persistently high inflation might stifle the global recovery from the pandemic has caused prices for oil, wheat and other commodities produced in the region to gyrate, bringing day-to-day and hour-to-hour reversals across markets.

“Markets appear to have been trafficking in an odd mix of hope, fear and uncertainty,” Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

Stocks tumbled in Hong Kong, having sunk to near six-year lows after the neighboring city of Shenzhen was ordered into a shutdown to combat China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years.

The Hang Seng index lost 5.1% to 18,534.53, while the Shanghai Composite gave up 4% to 3,094.08 after China's central bank indicated it would not lower...