Trading on the Moscow stock exchange has resumed after a month. Some of the funds can be traded again under strict restrictions. The Russian stock market rose 10 percent after opening. It is not clear to what extent the Russian government is making support purchases to keep prices high.
On the day the Russian invasion began, the MOEX, the Russian AEX, plummeted by 33 percent. a day later there was some recovery, but after that the stock market was closed for weeks.
With restrictions, trading resumed this morning, with the aim of limiting potential price falls as much as possible. For example, only 33 of the 50 shares may be traded, betting on price falls (going short) is prohibited and foreign investors are not allowed to sell shares. According to the Russian stock exchange, by far the largest part of the trade was done by foreign investors before the war.
Today, trading is also shorter than usual, just over 4 hours.
The Russian stock index MOEX stands at 2650 points after half an hour of trading, a gain of more than 7 percent. Just before the invasion, the MOEX index was still 3100 points.
Gas against rubles
Russian President Putin announced yesterday that ‘evil countries’ will have to pay for the gas they take from Russia in rubles, instead of dollars or euros. This measure appears to be intended to support the Russian economy. Since the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian currency has continued to depreciate and inflation is rising in the country. In February inflation in Russia was 9.2 percent,
By obliging countries to pay for gas in rubles, the demand for the currency increases and with it its exchange rate.
It remains to be seen how large buyers will react to Russia’s proposal. Italy has said it will continue to pay in euros and Europe’s largest buyer, Germany, says gas contracts must be broken if Russia is to receive rubles from now on.
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