Russia’s stock market has suffered its worst week in more than two years in response to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs and a fall in global oil prices.
Market value of companies listed Moscow Exchange (MOEX) Dropped with 2 trillion rubles ($ 23.7 billion) over only two days and slid from 55.04 trillion rubles ($ 651.8 billion) on Wednesday’s close to 53.02 trillion ($ 627.9 billion) at the end of trading Friday, according to Exchange Data.
The Moex Russia index, which tracks 43 in Russia’s largest listed businesses, lost 8.05% during the week – its worst performance since the end of September 2022, when the markets were raised by the Kremlin’s announcement of mass mobilization for the war in Ukraine.
At the end of trade on Friday, shares in some of the country’s largest companies were thrown: Sberbank fell by 5.2%, Gazprom 4.9%, VTB 6%, Rosnft 3.9%and Lukoil 4.6%. Mechel, the steel and charcoal giant, fell more than 7%, while the Aeroflot aircraft company slid 4.8%and gas producer Novatek fell 5.4%.
“A massive crisis unfolds in our eyes,” said Yevgeny Kogan, an investment banker and professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.
Analysts at JP Morgan have raised the odds of a global recession to 60% after Trump’s tariffs.
The tariffs have caused prices for raw materials to fall, with Brent -raw oil falls 12% over the past two days and hit a card $ 64.06 per day. Barrel – its lowest level since April 2021. Copper futures fell 11% in the same period.
In the US, the S&P 500 fell over 10% between Wednesday and Friday. European stock exchanges closed 4-5% Friday after China reciprocated to Trump’s duty with a 34% duty on all US goods.
The consequences of a global trade war – including lower energy prices, an increase in import costs and renewed inflation pressure – would have an acute influence on Russia, a country that is highly dependent on commodity exports, said Yelena Kozhukhova, an analyst in Veles Capital in Moscow.
Moex has thrown 17% of its value since mid -February, and shares in larger companies have fallen into double -digit percentages: Gazprom by 30%, Norilsk Nickel with 25% and Rosnft by 28%.
Russian Urals -Raw Oil, the country’s key export mixture, now trades under $ 60 per day. Barrel. These prices signalize problems with the state budget and a probable devaluation of the ruble evaluation in the coming months, Kogan said.
“Progress in the peace talks could save the situation, but it is yet to see,” he said.
A visit by Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, in Washington on Thursday did not seem to promote talks to end the war in Ukraine.
“President Trump will not fall into the trap of endless negotiations on negotiations,” said US State Secretary Marco Rubio on Friday. “We want to know it fast enough – within a few weeks, not months – whether Russia is serious about peace or not.”
Still, NATO officials see no evidence that Moscow is preparing to compromise.
“We see no indication that Russia’s goal in this war has changed,” said a senior allian employee on Thursday during a closed briefing.