Russian Stocks Move To London

As Russian business paper Kommersant reported, the MICEX fell 13 percent on opening October,8, which mounted to 14.35 percent (637.87 points) within half an hour.

Trading was closed until October, 10 or until an order was received from the Federal Financial Markets to resume trading. By that time, the RTS index had fallen 11.25 percent to 761.63 points. Trading there was stopped for an hour but not resumed after 12:00.

Now it too will wait for an order from the markets service. The spot market continued to operate and REPO and pre-negotiated deals were resumed after 4:00.

Trading in Russian stocks – depository notes on those stocks – was moved to London. The London Stock Exchange had lost an average of 15-20 percent at opening at 12:00 Moscow time. It began to recover gradually after 3:00, when the European Central Bank and U.S. Federal Reserve Board announced coordinated efforts to lower interest rates. Long-term investors, particularly the Capital and Dreyfuss funds began buying as speculators sold. The recovery was short-lived, however.

Trading in Russian reached $1.96 billion. Trade in Russian stocks did not pick up yesterday. Investors are concerned about the behavior of the markets and possible future decisions of regulators.

Author: Ksenia Kochneva