SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares took a beating
in early trade on Friday and oil prices jumped as a report of a
nuclear power plant on fire amid continued fierce fighting
between Ukraine and Russian troops further unnerved investors.
    RIA News agency cited the Ukrainian atomic energy ministry
as saying that a generating unit at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, has been hit
during an attack by Russian troops.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2V702B
    S& P 500 futures  ESc1  shed 1.6% and Nasdaq futures  NQc1 
lost 1.8%. Overnight, Wall Street ended lower as investors
remained on edge over the Ukraine crisis, while rising prices of
commodities also weighed on market sentiment.
    MSCI' s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  shed 0.8% and traded near the day' s lows.
Markets across Asia were in a sea of red, with Japan  .N225 
down 2.3%, South Korea fell 1.4% and commodities-heavy Australia
 .AXJO  also lost 1.2%.
    Oil prices jumped on Friday after ending steady a day
earlier, with the market also focused on whether the OPEC+
producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, would increase
output from January.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2DL06Q
    The euro shed further ground and was set for its worst week
versus the dollar in nine months. It fell 0.44% to $1.1022.