Collapse of Russian stocks observed on Monday is psychological and due to incoming news about the Ukrainian crisis, says Sergei Shvetsov, Central Bank of Russia (CBR) first deputy chairman and head of the bank’s financial markets service.
“This is a reaction to information coming in at the weekend. It is hard to say now how markets will behave later but I always want to believe in the better,” he said, adding that CBR interest rate revision, including adjusting the key rate, would help soothe markets and decrease volatility.
“This is why we have revised them,” he said, declining to make any further forecasts.
Russian stock exchange indices dropped at Monday’s opening. Decline intensified in the first hour of trading, despite the CBR decision to temporarily up the key rate by 1.5 percentage points to 7% per annum.
The RTS Index sank 10.74% to 1,131.15 points. The MICEX Index plunged 9.52% to 1,313 points.
Last weekend, Russia announced it could use its armed forces in Ukraine to protect Russian citizens and military personnel in the Crimea region.