FTSE 100 was trading down 2.6% at 7,050 following the news of Russia’s invasion lead to a fire in one of the largest Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

Oil prices continued to climb despite efforts to boost supply, but failed to lift shares in FTSE 100 oil companies with the market choosing to focus on the impact on household bills and further inflation.

“With the invasion of Ukraine by Russia now into its second week, stock markets continue to battle the threat of even higher inflation and a potential economic slowdown,” says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Tensions also rose as western powers mulled new sanctions on Russia which could potentially lead to an escalation if Russia chose to lash out in response.

“There will be more Russian banks taken out of the SWIFT system. I suspect all Russian-flagged ships will be banned from entering EU ports,” said Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister in an interview with RTE.

Putin has recently said “we do not see any need here to aggravate or worsen our relations. And all our actions, if they arise, they always arise exclusively in response to some unfriendly actions, actions against the Russian Federation.”

Broad FTSE 100 declines

International Consolidated Airlines shares have crashed 15% since Monday on concerns holiday makers will hold off from making bookings with a backdrop of war and rising prices.

ITV shares have continued their dip from yesterday and are trading down 6.5% to 74.9p after announcing their expansion plans for their streaming services. Despite a rise of 28% in revenues to £1.7bn, the investment of £180m into ITVX is not being taken well by investors.

HSBC shares were a major drag on the FTSE 100 after a 4.9% drop to 470.9p in Friday afternoon trade. Due to the exposure to global operations by HSBC, the bank is particularly exposed to geopolitical risk.

Marks & Spencer shares have seen a 2.7% dip on Friday after having to postpone shipments to FiBa group, M&S’ Turkish franchisee’s Russian business.

Hays’ shares have fallen 6.9% to 114.9p post the announcement of ceasing all business in Russia. The recruitment agency has chosen to shut their offices in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Coca-Cola HBC shares have been tanking all week and today, the shares were down 1.1% to 1,581p per share. The bottling company had to halt production in their Kiev plant as a result of the invasion. Emerging markets are CCHBC’s largest contributors to their revenues, and with the production pause, serious consequences are expected to be seen in their next earnings update.

Evraz volatility

Evraz shares soared 49.2% to 80.1p as investors jumped on the rollercoaster that is FTSE 100 shares with exposure to Russia. However, with the conflict in Ukraine accelerating rapidly, the company’s future remains uncertain and the shares look set for a continued volatility.

Polymetal saw its stock climb to 25.8% to 223p due to similar circumstances as bargain-hunters swooped in to purchase the stock after its lost 80% of its value in 2022.

Fresnillo saw a rise of 6.3% to 726.7p due to increasing gold and commodities prices, with interest accumulating in safe haven investments such as gold as market volatility spikes.

Oncimmune has been contracted by a global pharmaceutical leader to study autoantibody profiling of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP).

Oncimmune, the immunodiagnostics company, is using their ImmunoINSIGHTS autoantibody profiling service to understand autoimmune illness and infectious diseases.

SeroTag Infectious Diseases discovery array allows scientists to better understand how SARS-CoV-2 triggers an immune response and forecast how vaccines and treatments for the virus will work using the group’s proprietary biomarker discovery platform.

CIDP is an autoimmune illness that targets the myelin sheaths, which are the fatty coatings that insulate and protect nerves. In its acute phase, CIDP is commonly referred to as Guillain-Barré syndrome, but it is chronic, difficult to diagnose, and can result in irreversible physical damage if not treated early on.

For the new contract, Oncimmune will use SertoTag to discover autoantibodies with a connection to CIDP. Using ImmunoINSIGHTS, the firm can manufacture specific antigens associated with CIDP via the group’s SeroTag platform. SeroTag will screen tests from patients with CIDP to find autoantibodies with relevance.

Dr. Adam M Hill, Chief Executive Officer, Oncimmune commented,”We are pleased to announce this contract with another leading pharmaceutical company, adding to the growing list of global partners, working with us in the rare disease space where there is a real clinical need and opportunity to make a significant impact.”

“This contract will make full use of the unique attributes of our SeroTag platform, and the competencies amongst our scientific colleagues, who are world leaders in autoimmune profiling.”

“As is typical with SeroTag contracts, there is potential for the initial discovery work in autoantibodies to progress to further research and support for therapeutic development, creating and refining CIPD-specific NavigAID panels using additional data and markers to guide drug development and inform patient and disease stratification.”

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund announced the completed acquisition of a 28 MWh operational energy storage asset in Cremzow, Germany.

The Fund saw its share price dip 0.3% to 117.1p on Friday during early morning trading.

Gore Street announced that it had acquired a 90% stake in the asset, with German renewable developer Enertrag maintaining a 10% stake and supporting technical management of the venture.

The company reported that the acquisition would bring its operating assets 232 MW alongside total portfolio assets under management to 629 MW.

The announcement was in line with Gore Street’s mandate to expand outside the UK and Ireland.

The move reportedly allows the company to expand into Europe and participate in wholesale and intra-day arbitrage as a means to bring additional revenue stacking opportunities to the Fund.

Gore Street confirmed that the system is based LG Chem lithium-ion batteries.

“This is a landmark acquisition with compelling fundamentals which not only demonstrates our entry into new markets but also increases our operational cash generating assets, and further diversifies Gore Street’s portfolio,” said Gore Street CEO Alex O’Cinneide.

“We are very pleased to have worked with ENEL on this transaction and look forward to continuing to partner with Enertrag to optimise the asset going forwards.”

“Energy storage is an ever-increasing infrastructure requirement, and we will continue to seek out the best opportunities from our considerable pipeline across our key markets.”