Global stocks tumbled today as tension over Russia's military advance into Ukraine and possible sanctions by Western governments intensified.

Oil surged above 104 US dollars per barrel on concern that Russian supplies might be disrupted. Gold was up 2.1% to 1,349.30 US dollars an ounce on safe haven buying.

In Europe, Germany's DAX sank 2.4% to 9,455.1 and France's CAC-40 shed 1.6% to 4,337.71. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 1.3% to 6,723.72.

Russia's RTS stock index plunged 10.5% and the broader Micex index slumped by 12.7%. The rouble, already down nearly 10% this year, fell below 50 against the euro for the first time. It was trading below 36.4 to the US dollar, also a record.

Traders were jittery over warnings by Washington and other governments that Moscow, an oil exporter, might face sanctions after it seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

"Economic war with Russia, if this escalates, would take a toll on the global economy," said Carl B Weinberg, of High Frequency Economics, in a report.

Many countries depend on imported oil and gas, making them sensitive to any turmoil that might disrupt supplies.

On Wall Street, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 indexes were off by an unusually large 0.8% and 0.9% respectively.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.3% to 14,652.23 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.5% to 22,500.67. Taipei, Seoul, Sydney and Singapore also fell.

China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, adding 0.9% to 2,075.23 despite a survey showing manufacturing weakened in February and employers cut jobs.

Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.4% to 8,601.98 and Seoul's Kospi shed 0.8% to 1,964.69. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4% to 5,384.30. Manila and Jakarta also fell.

Today's losses were a reverse from last week's gains in many global markets.

Benchmark US crude for April delivery was up 1.54 US dollars to 104.13 US dollars per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 19 cents in the previous session to close at 102.59 US dollars.

In currency markets, the euro rose to 1.3777 US dollars from 1.3767 US dollars late on Friday. The dollar fell to 101.37 yen from 101.40 yen.

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