"Hard-hitting sanctions would not only punish Russia but also Europe, so the afternoon rebound embraced the not-so-hard second round of sanctions," said OANDA's Edward Moya in a note to investors.
"Heightened volatility on the escalation of the conflict shows markets had not fully priced in the likelihood of deeper conflict," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, in a Thursday report. With price pressures across major economies already at their highest in decades, others dashed for inflation trades.