Russian stock markets suspended amid market turmoil

September 17, 2008

Trading on Russia's major stock markets has been suspended for a second consecutive day due to the ongoing turmoil in the financial markets around the world.

The suspension took place due to an order of the Russian government's Federal Service for the Financial Markets, which demanded the suspension. "It took too long for the money to get into the system," said Uralsib analyst Chris Weafer commenting on this decision. "They were afraid of panic selling so they stopped the market."

Before the suspension, the RTS exchange fell by 6.39 percent in just two hours, while the MICEX index started the day with an increase, before falling again. This day was the worst day in Russia's market since the country's 1998 financial crisis

Several financial markets have continued to lose value. The primary British index, the FTSE 100, dropped in value by 2.36%, which is 118.40 points, to below the 5000 mark at 4907.20. The Dow Jones, was down 2.62% at 16:08 UTC, a slight increase from earlier today. The Dow Jones currently has a value of 10769.00 points. The NASDAQ index has fallen by -3.16% to 2138.14, while the Dax was 1.75% lower than the start of the day at 16:08 UTC.

The Russian Government has also announced the injection of 44 billion dollars into the Russian economy. The cash injection will take place through VTB, Sberbank and Gazprom Bank, which are all state run banks.