The Russian rouble continued its rebound, hovering above 97 against the dollar, while the stock market resumed trading after a month-long break. The bulk of equities advance was aided by Putin’s ban on short-selling and other support measures.
After the West levied unprecedented Western sanctions for what Russia terms “a special military operation” in Ukraine, the Russian currency plunged to a record low and the central bank ordered the suspension of most transactions, the markets are gradually reopening.
The rouble was up 1.84% to 97.0000 to the dollar as at 12.30 pm on Thursday, extending overnight gains fueled by President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia will begin selling its gas to “unfriendly” countries in roubles.
The rouble was trading at 107.45 against the euro, up 3% from an all-time low of 132.4 set in Moscow trading earlier in March. In the last five days, the EUR/RUS has gained 9.25%. However, this is still a far way from the 90s, which were witnessed before Russia pushed hundreds of troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Volatility rose on the stock market as the Moscow Exchange partially began trading for the first time since late February. Short selling is still prohibited, as is trading with foreigners.
What you should know
Volatility increased on the stock market as Russia prepares to resume stock trading on today after a nearly month-long break, with 33 rouble securities set to be traded on the Moscow Exchange. Non-residents, on the other hand, will have to wait until April 1 to sell equities and OFZ rouble bonds.
Russian stocks, major brokerages with big banks, including Sberbank, VTB, and Alfa, reported issues processing client.
On March 1, the government said that it would use up to 1 trillion roubles ($11.24 billion) from its rainy-day National Wealth Fund to buy Russian stocks, which had been roiled by a major sell-off earlier this month.
The benchmark MOEX stock index climbed 4.88% on the day to 2,591.00,at the time of writing this article, while trading of its dollar-denominated peer RTS remained suspended.
VTB, Russia’s second-largest lender, was down 1.5% on the day as a result of western sanctions. Other companies, however, rose, with some, such as gas company Novatek, climbing nearly 25% on the day.
As Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s biggest export, hovered around $121 per barrel, shares in gas giant Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) surged nearly 18%, while oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil rose more than 20% and 6%, respectively.
