Russian stocks plummet on geopolitical risks, sanction woes

MOSCOW, Sep 26 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market fell on Monday again as geopolitical risks were rising, while investors were waiting for more packages of anti-Russian sanctions, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 7.49% to 1,933.35 and the RTS decreased 8.62% to 1,043.44.

“The sales continued (on Monday) after the closure of gaps last week on the background of rising geopolitical risks and in expectations of another package of Western sanctions,” Freedom Finance Global analyst Vladimir Chernov said.

Igor Dodonov from Finam said that investors expected the conflict in Ukraine to worsen after referendums on the accession to Russia that are going on in the Donetsk and Lugansk republics and in two regions, which would lead to another wave of anti-Russian sanctions.

“A general tendency for withdrawal from risks on the financial markets of the world, which is caused by fears of a global recession, only added fuel to the fire,” Dodonov said.

Otkritie Research leading analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that a global recession might cut demand for the goods that Russia exports, which creates additional negative sentiment.

Chernov also said that the ordinary shares of oil company Surgutneftegas lost 14.42%% to 17.80 rubles while the preferred shares went down by 15.12% to 21.30 rubles as investors are concerned with the company’s financial reserves that are denominated in foreign currencies. The new sanctions may cause a complete shutdown of digital transactions with the U.S. dollar.

Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that the shares of coal producer Raspadskaya plunged by 13.52% to 229 rubles after media reported about a possible increase of the mineral extraction tax on coal from 2023 with the combined additional tax burden on the industry reaching 30 billion rubles.

Below are the MOEX Russia Index’ five most active stocks on Monday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-5.87	211.65	20.598
Sberbank	-7.80	110.08	15.412
Lukoil	-5.03	3750.00	5.292
Surgutneftegas prefs	-15.12	21.30	4.553
Rosneft	-10.35	266.00	3.645

(58.1006 rubles – U.S. $1)

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