- Global stocks slid Monday after Russia claimed to have killed 5 Ukrainian troops who crossed into its territory.
- Ukraine rejected Russia's claims, saying none of its soldiers had been killed and there was no incursion.
- Nasdaq futures traded 1.15% lower at one point, with US stock markets closed for Presidents Day.
Global stocks slid Monday after Russia claimed to have killed five Ukrainian soldiers who breached its border.
Futures on the Dow Jones fell 0.4%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.6%, while those on the Nasdaq lost 1.1% as of 9:40 a.m. ET. The major US stock markets are closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
Ukraine dismissed Russia's statement, saying not a single one of its soldiers had been killed and none had entered Russian territory on Monday morning.
US officials have previously described Russia's reports of military incursions by Ukraine as "false flags" to create an excuse for it to invade its neighbor.
"The news flow from the region is seemingly biased from both sides, while the constant swings in good news/bad news make it difficult to value and trade the market at the current time," Nicholas Cawley, strategist at DailyFX, said in a note.
Earlier Monday, US stock futures switched between gains and losses, trading on a glimmer of hope after news that US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had agreed in principle to hold a Ukraine summit soon. Biden's condition for the meeting is that Russia doesn't invade Ukraine.
The summit news boosted risk assets, but markets are not good at pricing in political risk properly, according to Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Elsewhere, the pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 dropped 1.3%, and Frankfurt's DAX lost 1.9%. London's FTSE 100 fell 0.4%.
Meanwhile, oil prices extended gains on the prospect of disruption to supply. Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to $92.18 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate added 0.6% to reach $90.75 a barrel.
Gold fell 0.2% to $1,895.05 an ounce, while the Swiss franc, also seen as a safe haven, was up 0.6% against the dollar at $1.0915.
On Monday morning, the Kremlin said no concrete plans for a Biden-Putin summit had been set. Despite this, Commerzbank's Carsten Fritsch said the possibility of a meeting between the presidents is giving rise to hopes of a diplomatic solution.
"However, reports of increasing violations of the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine and an extended military maneuver conducted by Russian units in Belarus are generating uncertainty," the commodity analyst said in a note.