As Russia attacks Ukraine, oil and gold prices surge.

• Shares in Asia-Pacific declined on Thursday.
• The possibility of a state of emergency in Ukraine for 30 days, which must be approved by parliament, remains a concern due to fears over the escalating tensions with Russia.
• Overnight on Wall Street, major averages in the U.S. reached new lows for the year.

The escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine caused oil futures to rise and Asia-Pacific shares to decline on Thursday.

In a public address, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the authorization of a military operation in Ukraine, and NBC News reported explosions in Kyiv.

On Thursday, the international benchmark climbed by 6.54% to $103.17 per barrel, while the price of oil in Asia rose by 6.21% to $97.82 per barrel, surpassing the $100 mark for the first time since 2014.

Despite being traditionally a safe haven in uncertain times, gold rose 1.86% and last traded at $1,943.10.

Markets across Asia were in negative territory.

In Japan, the Nikkei index decreased by 1.81% to end at 25,970.82, while the Topix index fell by 1.25% to 1,857.58.

On Thursday, the Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 1.25%, but predicted that consumer price inflation will be "substantially above 3% for a considerable time." Meanwhile, South Korea's stock market, the KOSPI, dropped 2.6% to 2,648.80, and the Kosdaq fell 3.32% to 848.21.

In mainland China, the stock market fell 1.7% to close at 3,429.96, while the Hong Kong stock market dropped 2.2% to 13,252.24.

In late trade, Hong Kong's stock market saw a 3.6% decline. The shares of Chinese artificial intelligence firm SenseTime Group plummeted approximately 11% following the announcement that its weighting in the Hang Seng Tech index, which will be included in March, has been revised down from 3.94% to 0.24%.

The Australian stock market fell 2.99% to 6,990.6, with banks, miners, and oil stocks experiencing significant declines.

The MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index fell by 3.45%.

In the third quarter, will be reporting its earnings late in Asia.

Russia-Ukraine crisis

Concerns over the escalating tensions in Russia and Ukraine remain in focus.

Ukraine declared its intention to implement a state of emergency for 30 days, which may be extended, on Wednesday. This decision must be approved by parliament. Additionally, the country advised its citizens to evacuate Russia and refrain from traveling there.

This week, Moscow announced that it would formally recognize the independence of two pro-Moscow breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, marking a new phase in the crisis.

On Wednesday, Moscow's state-controlled media reported that evacuations had begun from its embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.

On Wall Street, the three major indexes experienced a decline overnight. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% and entered deeper correction, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.38% to 33,131.76. The Nasdaq Composite also lost 2.6% to 13,037.49, with a focus on technology.

Currencies

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a group of other currencies, rose to 96.522 from 96.190.

While the dollar was trading at 114.44, the euro fell from $0.7233 to $0.7177.