Russia experienced its sharpest stock market crash in four years
The Russian stock market began the new trading week with its sharpest decline in the past four years.
During trading on Monday, June 22, the Moscow Exchange Index fell by 4.65%, marking its steepest decline since late September 2022, when Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization.”
Overall, the market has lost one-fifth of its value since mid-March.
At the close of trading, the index—which includes shares of Russia’s 46 largest companies—fell to 2,318.2 points. Rosneft’s shares suffered their sharpest decline since 2022, falling 7.3% in a single day.
Shares of Novatek, VTB, and Aeroflot lost more than 5% of their value, while Lukoil and Rostelecom shares fell by more than 3%. “Panic selling is already underway in the market,” notes investment banker Yevgeny Kogan.
He notes that the reasons remain the same: the lack of negotiations to end the war, as well as strikes on Russian infrastructure.
At the same time, shares of the Russian state-owned giant Gazprom fell below the psychological threshold of 100 rubles ($1.35) for the first time since 2009.
During the trading session, the stock price fell to 99.9 rubles and closed at 100.65 rubles, down 3.67%.
The oil and gas sector came under pressure due to Europe’s decision to phase out Russian energy resources, the collapse of gas negotiations with China, and the official lifting of U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Finam analyst Dmitry Lozovoy notes that the economy is slowing down, taxes are rising, and the fuel crisis threatens to drive up inflation.
Ultimately, the U.S. has officially lifted sanctions on Iran and granted Iran permission to trade oil, Lozovyi points out.
The arrival of Iranian oil on the global market is expected to lower commodity prices, which will significantly reduce export earnings and Russian budget revenues.
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