Stocks drop as investors cut risk on Ukraine tension

SINGAPORE : Asian markets slipped on Friday and gold stood at an eight-month high after an exchange of fire in eastern Ukraine and renewed U.S. warnings of an imminent Russian invasion had investors looking for safety ahead of the weekend.

"The market will be on high alert over the possibility of a Russian invasion next week once the Beijing Olympics are over," analysts at ANZ Bank said in a note. Overnight safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc climbed to two-week highs on the dollar, with the yen edging a tad higher still in Asia to 114.84 per dollar.

Brent crude futures were last steady at $92.97 a barrel, about 4per cent below Monday's peak, and U.S. crude hovered at $91.63 a barrel.Concern about conflict in Ukraine comes with markets already rattled by a rates outlook that could hold as many as seven Federal Reserve increases in the year ahead.

"Markets have been particularly volatile recently and virtually everyone adjusted their Fed hike calls higher," said NatWest Markets' strategist Jan Nevruzi.

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