A message from our CIO, Scott Phillips:
"G'day Fools. If you're like us, you're dismayed by the events taking place in Ukraine. It is an unnecessary humanitarian tragedy. Times like these remind us that money is important, but other things are far more valuable. And yet the financial markets remain open, shares are trading, and our readers and members are looking to us for guidance. So we'll do our best to continue to serve you, while also hoping for a swift and peaceful end to war in Ukraine."
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Shares in Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) are in the red on Friday, falling more than 17% to a low of $2.16 around noon today.
At the time of writing, the Boss Energy share price is down 13.7% trading at $2.33, the drop coming despite no market-sensitive information out of the company's camp today.
However, we note that during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, a fire has broken out at Europe's largest nuclear power station, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Image source: Getty Images
What in the world is happening?
It appears that much of the calamity in global energy markets right now is stemming from reports the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is ablaze in Ukraine.
Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba posted that the plant was on fire after shelling in the early hours of Friday morning European time, according to CNN live updates.
The nuclear plant is the biggest in Europe and among the largest in the world, supplying almost 30,000 Gw net annually.
A meltdown at the site has the potential to rock global energy markets – notwithstanding the environmental impacts – and has sent markets into turmoil today.
At the time of writing, the nuclear energy index is down less than 1%, whereas renewable indices for wind energy and solar energy are down more than 2% and 1% respectively.
Uranium is also flat today at US$51.6 per pound after charging from US$43/lbs in early February while key players in the ASX energy space suffer heavy losses today.
As such the S&P/ASX 200 Energy index (ASX: XEJ) is also faltering 2% to 9,607.6 points today amid the potential energy crisis that could surmount should the plant go under.
The Boss Energy share price closely tracks the ASX energy benchmark and even over-reaches the benchmark return/loss on most occasions (shown below), as in today's case.
Prior to today's trimming, the Boss Energy share price had climbed 37% in a week, backed by strong uranium prices and surging prices on oil contracts.
Boss Energy share price snapshot
In the last 12 months, the Boss Energy share price has surged more than 108% and is flying into the green this year to date.
During the past month of trading, shares have gained a further 15%, after galloping more than 24% higher this week.
