Financial Associated Press (Shanghai editor Liu Rui) news, this Friday, the global market experienced a "fright".
Ukrainian officials suddenly warned in the morning that a fire had caught fire after an attack on a large nuclear power plant, triggering a shock in global markets. But then, the fire allegedly did not cause serious damage, there was no significant change in the level of nuclear radiation at the scene, and the market panic eased.
A scare? Global stock markets underwent a big dive
On Friday morning, Andrii Tuz, a representative of the press service of Ukraine's Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, said there had been a fire in the area of the Zaporozhian nuclear power plant. According to the mayor of the nearby town of Enerhodar, the Zaporozhia nuclear power plant caught fire after the Russian attack.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that Russian troops were "firing from all directions on The Zaporozhia, Europe's largest nuclear power plant."
Real-time surveillance footage from the Zaporižayan nuclear power plant showed missiles hitting facilities within the plant area
The news triggered sharp swings in financial markets. The three major U.S. stock index futures have divened, with nasdaq futures falling more than 2 percent at one point and the Nikkei 225 falling more than 3 percent at one point. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.35%.
International crude oil and gold prices rushed higher in the short term, WTI crude oil rose more than 2% to about $112 / barrel, and the price of gold's main futures once soared above $1950.
U.S. President Joe Biden also immediately spoke to Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and kept up to date with the U.S. Department of Energy's Deputy Director of Nuclear Security, the White House said.
A false alarm? The fire did not cause significant damage
But shortly thereafter, Ukraine's emergency services said in a statement that the fire occurred mainly at a training facility on the outskirts of the plant.
Tuz, a spokesman for the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, also said fighting in the vicinity of the plant had stopped and that although the fires continued, radiation levels were currently at normal levels. Tuz said the plant had not suffered serious damage, although only one of the six generating units was still in operation. He also earlier claimed that at least one of the plant's generating units had been hit in the fighting.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also wrote on Twitter that Ukraine's nuclear regulator told them that there had been no change in radiation levels at the site of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and that the fires at the site had not affected "critical" equipment.
U.S. Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm tweeted that she had spoken with Ukraine's energy minister about the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The United States has activated a nuclear accident response team and is working with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the White House to monitor the situation.
She also stressed: "We did not see an increase in radiation readings near the nuclear power plant. The reactors at the nuclear power plant are protected by a robust containment structure, and the reactors are shutting down safely. ”
Market panic has eased
After confirming that the nuclear power plant had not been seriously damaged, panic in the financial markets also eased to a certain extent.
The decline of the three major U.S. stock indexes narrowed rapidly, and as of press time, the decline of the three major U.S. stock index futures has narrowed to about 0.8%, and the decline of the Nikkei 225 index has narrowed to about 2%.
WTI crude oil prices fell back below $110/b, while gold essentially gave back its gains, from nearly $1953/oz to near $1940/oz.
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is located in Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine, about 70 miles (112 km) from the city of Zaporizhzhia. The city of Zapolezhya, about 125 miles (about 200 kilometers) west of the city of Donetsk, is one of two pro-Russian regions recognized by Russia last month as an independent state.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the plant is the largest of its kind in Ukraine, with six of the country's 15 nuclear reactors and generating about 20 percent of Ukraine's electricity.