Wall Street: US stocks flat in pre-market as Russia-Ukraine war rages

US markets were essentially flat in premarket trading while oil prices continued to climb as Russian forces bombarded Ukraine's second-largest city and besieged two ports.

The economic fallout from the Russian invasion expanded, with Fitch Ratings and Moody's Ratings cutting Russia's credit rating.

They said the invasion and Western sanctions have hurt Moscow's ability to repay debts and raised risks for the economy and stability.

On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered between slight gains and losses a couple of hours before the market opens in New York.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London and Frankfurt's DAX each lost 0.6 per cent while the CAC in Paris slipped 0.2 per cent.

The London Stock Exchange said it had suspended trading in shares of 27 companies with links to Russia, including some of the biggest in energy and steel, such as Lukoil, Gazprom, Sberbank, Rosneft and Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works.

In a notice, the ...