European stocks fell for a third day, the ruble declined the most in a week and commodities rose after Russia called an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council amid worsening violence in Ukraine. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.6 percent at 7:23 a.m. in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures swung between gains and losses following the gauge’s biggest weekly drop since June 2012. The ruble slid 0.6 percent the dollar after clashes between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian gunmen turned deadly. The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 raw materials rose 0.3 percent, after earlier climbing to the highest level since March 4. Palladium advanced to the highest since August 2011, wheat rallied 1.8 percent, nickel jumped to the highest since February 2013 and U.K. natural gas gained 2 percent. Officials from the U.S. and Russia blamed each other at yesterday’s UN Security Council meeting for violence that left at least one Ukrainian serviceman dead. Envoys from Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and the EU also are scheduled to hold talks on the crisis in Geneva April 17. Citigroup Inc. (C) reports earnings today after disappointing results from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a selloff in technology stocks sent the S&P 500 to its biggest weekly loss since June 2012. “The crisis in Ukraine is adding some volatility to the market, especially considering that there is a real economic risk if the situation escalates further,� Francois Savary, who helps oversee about $9.6 billion as chief investment officer at Reyl & Cie, said by phone from Geneva. “Thursday’s meeting will be key to see if the parties involved are able to find a diplomatic solution to de-escalate the situation.� Escalating Protests Four shares declined for every one that advanced in the Stoxx 600, with trading volumes 17 percent higher than the 30-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slid 0.5 percent, retreating for a second day. Protests escalated near Ukraine’s Slovyansk, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the Russian frontier. Camouflaged gunmen fired on Kiev government troops in an anti-terror operation, killing one serviceman and wounding five, the Ukrainian government said. The ruble dropped to 35.8680 per dollar, the weakest since March 25. Turkey’s lira weakened 0.6 percent and South Africa’s rand declined 0.2 percent per dollar, while Hungary’s forint lost 0.3 percent against the euro. Russia’s Micex Index fell 1.4 percent, taking its loss since President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into the Crimea region at the beginning of March to 7 percent. Ukraine’s April 2023 Eurobond fell for a second day, sending the yield 38 basis points higher to 9.88 percent. Commodities Climb “The Ukraine tension is giving things linked to Russia a sentiment boost but this remains more of a tail risk, especially as many commodities already have their own existing supply story,� Dominic Schnider, head of commodities research at UBS AG’s wealth-management unit, said by phone from Singapore. The S&P GSCI climbed as much as 0.8 percent to 657.22, the highest since March 4. Palladium increased as much as 1.3 percent to $815.10 an ounce and nickel gained 2.9 percent, the 11th consecutive gain in the longest streak since October 2010. Russia is the biggest producer of palladium, is the fifth-largest wheat exporter and Moscow-based OAO Norilsk Nickel is the top producer of refined nickel. U.K. natural gas, the European Union’s benchmark contract, climbed for a fourth day. Europe gets about a third of its natural gas from Russia, half of it through Ukraine. Travel and leisure shares led declines among the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. The broader gauge dropped 3.1 percent last week, the biggest loss in a month. Peugeot Slides PSA Peugeot Citroen retreated 4.6 percent today after Europe’s second-largest carmaker set a 2018 profitability target, outlining plans to cut its model lineup by almost half. Defense company Rheinmetall AG fell 3.4 percent after Bild am Sonntag reported that a sale of tanks to Saudi Arabia will probably be canceled. Symrise AG dropped 2.4 percent after offering to buy Diana Group. Glencore Xstrata Plc gained 1.4 percent after selling its stake in the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru. Marine Harvest ASA (MHG) climbed 3 percent after the salmon farmer reported a higher first-quarter harvest than it had estimated. U.S. Stocks S&P 500 futures were little changed after the index slumped 2.7 percent last week, with the Nasdaq Composite Index losing 3.1 percent. Nasdaq 100 Index futures slipped less than 0.1 percent today. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P 500 options prices known as the VIX (VIX) that tends to move in opposite direction to the S&P 500, jumped 22 percent last week, the most in a month. The CBOE NDX Volatility Index of Nasdaq 100 contracts climbed 21 percent. Euro-area government bonds rose and the euro slipped after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the strengthening of the region’s shared currency warrants more monetary stimulus. Italy’s 10-year yield fell three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 3.18 percent. The rate dropped to 3.14 percent on April 7, the lowest since Bloomberg started collecting the data in 1993. Spain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 3.15 percent. Germany’s was little changed at 1.51 percent. The euro fell 0.4 percent to $1.3828 after climbing 1.3 percent last week, the biggest advance since the period ended Sept. 20. It lost 0.4 percent to 140.63 yen. The dollar was little changed at 101.73 yen. The cost of insuring corporate bonds against losses rose for a third day. The Markit iTraxx Europe index of credit-default swaps on 125 investment-grade companies increased one basis point to 74 basis points, the highest since March 31. To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Gentle in Hong Kong at ngentle2@bloomberg.net; Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net Stephen Kirkland

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