Russia-Ukraine tensions, which are affecting commodity prices in particular, led all major Asian indices to close Monday with strong declines

After the US officials’ statements on Friday regarding the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the diplomatic steps taken over the weekend were not enough to boost investor confidence.

Commodity prices have risen to the highest levels in the recent years after growing tensions, with the situation expected to affect the economic recovery.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, fell 1.25% or 47.58 points, to close at 3,744 points.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange went down 2.23%, or 616.5 points, to reach 27,079 points.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, lost 350 points, or 1.41%, to stand at 24,556 points.

China’s Shanghai stock exchange dropped 0.98%, or 34 points, to 3,428 points.

The Indian Sensex benchmark posted a decrease of 3% or 1,747 points to close at 56,405 points, and the Singapore index lost 7.75 points, or 0.23%, to reach 3,421 points. AA