Peter Nurse 

Investing.com — European stock market prices are likely to open slightly lower on Wednesday as investors assess the situation in Ukraine and hope that the Western sanctions will allow for diplomatic action to continue.

2.30 AM ET (0700 GMT): The German contract traded 0.2% less, while France’s contract fell 0.1%. Meanwhile, the U.K contract was 0.1% lower.

After Moscow sent troops to a few regions of eastern Ukraine that the Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized as independent republics, global stock markets were shaken Tuesday.

The U.S. President Joe Biden was quick to respond by imposing sanctions against two Russian banks as well as individuals who are close to Putin. Britain and the European Union also declared plans to attack banks. Germany also stopped approval of Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

The sanctions are to punish Russia’s economy but are not intended to hit energy markets, a senior U.S. State Department official said Tuesday, Thus, they are not as aggressive as the market had feared.

Antony Blinken (US Secretary of State) cancelled the meeting scheduled for Thursday with Sergei Lavrov. He said that he will do whatever he can “to avoid an even worse scenario, an all out assault on Ukraine and its capital.” 

While the index for March fell to -8.1, a decline from -6.7 in the previous month. The final Eurozone data release for January will draw attention and confirm that the European Central Bank has been under pressure to lower inflationary pressures.

In the corporate sector, earnings continue to flow, with Rio Tinto (NYSE:), the world’s top iron ore producer, reporting an almost doubling of annual profit, driven by strong demand from China.

Danone (PA:), the world’s largest yoghurt maker, delivered stronger-than-expected sales growth in the last quarter of 2021, while German reinsurance group Munich Re (DE:) said its net profit more than doubled in 2021, despite big claims from natural disasters.

After soaring to seven new highs in the previous session oil prices stabilised Wednesday. Western Europe’s energy supply was not affected by the U.S.-led sanctions against Russia over its troop deployment to eastern Ukraine.

A deal between Iran and the world’s powers appears to be close to being reached to end Tehran’s nuclear programme. This could lead to up to one million barrels per day of crude oil reentering global markets.

Futures were trading 0.2% lower at $91.69 per barrel by 2AM ET. The contract was 0.3% lower at $93.57. Tuesday’s high had been reached in September 2014, when it climbed to $93.57.

Also, the price of gold fell 0.5% at $1,898.50/oz while it traded flat at 1.1324