As Russia invades Ukraine, European stocks end the day 3% lower, with the German DAX experiencing a 4% decline.

• On Thursday, the global markets were affected by the news that Russia had launched an attack on Ukraine.
• European stocks perceived to have exposure to Russia tumbled.
• Nearly 38% of Polymetal International, 13% of Rolls-Royce, 14% of Uniper, and 23% of Raiffeisen Bank plummeted.

On Thursday, European stocks experienced a significant decline following Russia's attack on Ukraine, which escalated the longstanding diplomatic crisis into a military conflict.

Since the beginning of 2022, the pan-European stock market has experienced a decline of more than 3%, with banks leading the losses at over 8%. All sectors and major bourses have also slid into negative territory.

In Europe, the DAX index of Germany was one of the poorest performing major stock markets, experiencing a 4% decline.

On Thursday, Ukraine became the target of an unprecedented military invasion by Russia, with attacks on several key cities including its capital, Kyiv.

Russian forces are attacking Ukraine through both ground and air operations, with reports indicating that they have breached the Kyiv region.

In Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv, and Mariupol, explosions were felt starting about two hours before dawn on Thursday.

According to reports, explosions are still occurring. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign affairs minister, stated in a statement that a full-scale invasion of his country is currently taking place.

On a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the attack and stated that the world will hold Russia accountable. The European Union will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss its response to the latest development.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks plummeted with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 500 points, as investors flocked to the safety of government bonds. The yield on the U.S. 10-year note decreased by over 3 basis points to 1.939%. Bond yields move inversely with prices.

On Thursday, earnings were reported by AB InBev, Axa, Bouygues, Safran, Saint-Gobain, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Anglo American, BAE Systems, WPP, Rolls-Royce, and Lloyds Banking Group.

In Europe on Thursday morning, there were few individual share price gains worth mentioning, while stocks perceived by the market to have exposure to Russia plummeted nearly 38%, and 13%, 14%, and 23% also fell.

This market report was contributed to by Ryan Browne and Christine Wilkie of CNBC.