Goldman Sachs names the most exposed global stocks in the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Published Fri, Feb 25 20221:28 AM ESTUpdated Fri, Feb 25 20222:37 AM EST

Goldman Sachs has named a raft of global stocks with exposure to the growing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia launched an unprecedented invasion on neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, with military assaults on several key Ukrainian cities including its capital, Kyiv. Goldman said Europe will be the "most affected region" in this conflict, with the main implications reflected via a rise in risk premiums, higher energy prices due to the bloc's significant reliance on Russian gas and the region's direct exposures to Russia and Ukraine. The military assault spooked global equity markets, though major U.S. indices overcame the rocky start to close higher on Thursday. European indices however, closed lower, reflecting their geographical proximity to the unfolding conflict. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down more than 3% while Germany's DAX index was among the worst-performing major bourses in Europe with a 4% decline. We think it would take a much sharper fall in growth than we expect from this crisis to derail the bull market entirely. Goldman Sachs Despite Thursday's volatile trading, Goldman believes equity markets have already priced in slower growth, Goldman's analysts, led by Peter Oppenheimer, wrote in a note on Feb. 24. "It would appear that some moderation in growth has already been priced; we think it would take a much sharper fall in growth than we expect from this crisis to derail the bull market entirely," Oppenheimer added. Despite near-term challenges from the conflict, the bank believes the valuation of European equities "remains reasonable," with expected earnings per share growth of 8% in 2022 and 6% in 2023. European stocks also have relatively small exposure to Russia and Ukraine , the report said, with exports to Russia and Ukraine amounting to just 1% of the bloc's exports. Stocks with high Russia exposure Goldman's screen of stocks with the highest exposure to Russia turned up several stocks with revenue exposure of more than 20%. Topping the list was Dutch telecommunications firm VEON , a company that derives 48% of its revenue from Russia, according to the bank. The list also includes precious metals miner Polymetal International and British steel manufacturer Evraz , with revenue exposure of 42% and 38%, respectively. Other stocks with more than 20% sales exposure to Russia include German energy firm Uniper , Finnish state-owned energy company Fortum and tires manufacturer Nokian Renkaat. Goldman also compiled a list of companies with stakes in Russian companies. The list includes a number of energy stocks such as France's TotalEnergies , the UK's BP and Shell , Norway's Equinor , Luxembourg-based Tenaris (a major supplier of steel pipes to the energy sector) and Austria's OMV . Rounding off the list is Dutch internet group Prosus, French trains manufacturer Alstom , French automaker Renault and mining and trading group Glencore .

Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine's Lugansk region on February 24, 2022.

Anatolii Stepanov | AFP | Getty Images

Goldman Sachs has named a raft of global stocks with exposure to the growing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.