Ruská burza dnes poklesla takmer o 20%

Russia's benchmark stock exchange suffered its biggest-ever one-day loss as shares went into free fall on the back of falling oil prices and deepening fears about the global economy despite the passage of a $700 billion U.S. bank bailout.

Trading on MICEX _ the country's largest index_ was shut down three times, closing down 18.6 percent to 752 points. The benchmark RTS _ where trading was halted twice _ crashed to its lowest point since August 2005, falling by 19.1 percent to 866.4 points. It is the most the RTS has fallen in one day.

"The mood is kind of disbelief. You'd think we would have gotten used to it by now," said Ron Smith, strategist at Moscow-based Alfa Bank. "Traders are just sitting there staring at the screens and going 'wow'."

"In this environment, nobody wants to step up to the table and buy a stock," he added.

In September, growing financial turmoil in the United States and a wave of margin calls sent the Russian stock markets into their biggest downward spiral since 1998. The MICEX lost 25 percent in just three days, and prompted regulators to shut down the markets to stem the decline. They have since used that tool on several occasions when falls have become severe _ to lesser effect.

06.10.2008