European stocks plunge into bear market territory as surging oil and gas prices fuel economy fears

Oil had its biggest daily swing ever, with Brent surging to nearly $140 after the US said it was considering a ban on Russian crude imports

In some of the most chaotic trading the market has ever seen, benchmark natural gas futures leaped 79% to the equivalent of more than $600 a barrel of oil before paring gains.

European stocks fell to their lowest in a year, with the DAX and Euro Stoxx-50 indexes closing in a bear market as soaring oil prices spurred concerns high inflation would hurt economic growth.

Germany's DAX closed down 2% at the lowest level since November 2020, bringing total declines since its January record high to 21%. The Euro Stoxx 50 ended 1.2% lower, also closing in a bear market.