ASX hits two-month high after Jerome Powell says inflation is 'much too high', European Union split on Russian oil sanctions

Mining and energy stocks drove the Australian market to its highest level since late January, while oil prices jumped 8 per cent as European Union nations considered whether to join the United States in boycotting Russian oil. Meta's share price dropped 2.3 per cent after a Moscow court labelled the US social media company an "extremist organisation," upholding a decision to ban Facebook in Russia. Market snapshot at 8:10am AEST: ASX SPI futures at 7,316 points Australian dollar at 73.9 US cents Wall Street: Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq Europe: DAX, FTSE, Euro STOXX 50 Brent crude at $US116.53 / barrel Spot gold at $US1,935.67 / ounce Iron ore at $US147.90 / tonne 10-year bond yields: US, Australia Ramsay receives $1.8b for its Asian joint venture Ramsay Health Care and Malaysia-based Sime Darby Holdings have received a $1.8 billion buyout offer for their 50/50 Asia joint venture. "Increasing petrol prices have had a sharp impact on households’ confidence for both 'current' and 'future financial conditions' with the two subindices dropping 10.3 and 8.4 per cent respectively over the last two weeks," said David Plank, ANZ's head of Australian economics. Oil prices surge as Europe disagrees on sanctions On oil markets, Brent crude surged 8 per cent to $US116.53 a barrel, as the European Union's foreign ministers disagreed on Monday about whether and how to slap sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine.