The Russian stock market opened with notable declines on Thursday, driven by the impact of recent sanctions news. The MOEX index, a key benchmark for Russian stocks, fell by 3.82 per cent to 3,050.03 points at the start of trading. Similarly, the RTS index, which measures the performance of Russian stocks traded in foreign currencies, dropped by 3.59 per cent to 1,079.32 points. By 10:05 am Moscow time, the MOEX index had partially recovered to 3,100.94 points, showing a 2.21 per cent decline, while the RTS index improved slightly to 1,097.34 points, down 1.98 per cent. The trend continued to show signs of stabilisation by 10:36 am, with the MOEX index reducing its decline to 1.3 per cent, reaching 3,129.95 points, and the RTS index easing to a 1.06 per cent decrease, settling at 1,107.6 points. In the currency market, the Chinese yuan was trading at 12.15 roubles, reflecting a modest decrease of 0.63 per cent. Shares of major companies were hit particularly hard. As of 10:00 a.m., shares of the Moscow Exchange plummeted by 15.84 per cent to 212.04 roubles. Sberbank's ordinary shares fell by 4.3 per cent to 304.14 roubles, and VTB shares dropped by 5.98 per cent to 0.0186 roubles. By 10:45 am, these losses had lessened somewhat, with Moscow Exchange shares down by 6.53 per cent to 235.5 roubles, Sberbank shares declining by 1.26 per cent to 313.79 roubles, and VTB shares reducing their fall to 1.72 per cent, reaching 0.0194 roubles. Attribution: TASS.
