By Anisha Sircar

(Reuters] – European share prices fell on Tuesday amid worries over the conflict in Ukraine and aggressive monetary tightening at the U.S. Federal Reserve. Also, investors were anxious about a host of upcoming earnings.

Pan-European dropped 0.9% after losing 0.8% last week. The biggest droprs were travel shares, which gained the most last Friday.

Russian forces attempted to force through Ukrainian defenses near the eastern Ukraine front line on Tuesday. This launched what President Volodymyr Zeleskiy called the Battle of the Donbas, the long-awaited and awaited sequel to the war.

“Markets face a mix of headwinds this week,” stated Sophie Lundyates, leading equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, LON:

All of the regional markets fell into red. STOXX 600, the benchmark index for financial markets, has seen two consecutive weeks of declines.

“There is also increasing concern about a recession. Lund-Yates stated that rising interest rates are a sign of economic slowdown, making it very challenging.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank said it would end the stimulus programme in its third quarter. But, no firm commitment was made. It stressed that policies are flexible and did not confirm any plans.

James Bullard of St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank reiterated Monday his argument for an increase in interest rates up to 3.5% at the close of the year. Bullard said U.S. Inflation is “far more than necessary”.

The World Bank cut Monday’s global growth projection for 2022 from 4.1% to 3.2%, adding to the nervousness.

Although the earnings season in Europe so far has been uneven, this week’s focus will be on European firms that report. Accessor L’Oreal.

Down 0.6%, 40 leading losses were suffered by major peer countries. Investors will be watching closely the runoff vote for the presidential election in this country on Sunday.

Scor plunged 3.9% following statements by the French reinsurer that it expected to file charges in relation to claims relating to the Ukraine conflict.