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Global stocks slide as Crimea referendum looms

Lingering worries about Chinese growth may be curbing investor sentiment, but it was concerns over Ukraine that accentuated a flight to "safe havens" on Wednesday, as global stock markets hit the brakes.

A referendum looms large in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, with Ukraine officials speaking of plans to raise a new national guard to protect against internal and external threats.

The G-7 group of major industrialized countries issued a statement on Wednesday saying it would not recognize the results of the referendum. They also said that any steps by Russia to annex Ukraine's Crimea region would result in "further action".

(Read more: Don't change Ukraine's borders: Swedish minister)

Russian stocks on the blue-chip MICEX index fell 2.6 percent on Wednesday, after clocking up declines of more than 2 percent on Tuesday. Shares of Russian lender VTB Bank fell 5.3 percent, while telecom company MegaFon slipped 2.6 percent.

A stock price index graph shows plunging stock prices on an electronic information screen at the headquarters of the Micex-RTS Moscow Exchange, Russia's benchmark stock index, in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, March 3, 2014.Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"Markets will remain jittery about Ukraine, ahead of the Crimea referendum this weekend, and the threat of sanctions from the West," Michala Marcussen, global head of economics at Societe Generale, said in a note on Wednesday.

(Read more: Europe shares slump on China, Ukraine fears)

The dollar continued to gain ground against the ruble and the Russian finance ministry had to postpone another government bond auction on Tuesday evening due to unfavorable market conditions.

"Safe havens" saw some buying, with spot gold climbing for a second session on Wednesday to its highest level in four and a half months. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell to 2.73 percent, as investors shunned riskier assets.

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