Short selling remains prohibited
Moscow Stock Exchange trades all Russian stocks again
03/26/2022, 1:41 p.m
A little more normality should return to the Moscow stock exchange in the new week. Although the trading day is further shortened, more stocks can be traded.
A good month after the start of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Moscow stock exchange will allow trading in shares of all Russian companies again for the first time next week. Most recently, only papers from 33 companies were allowed. A shortened trading day for Russian equities is scheduled for this Monday – from 9.50 a.m. to 1.50 p.m. (8.50 a.m. to 12.50 p.m. CEST), the Russian central bank announced in Moscow. Short sales are still prohibited, it said.
The stock exchange was closed for weeks after the start of the war on February 24 and only resumed limited trading last Thursday. Many papers had jumped sharply, which is why the companies were able to make up for some of the losses. There was already a first opening step on Monday, when government bonds were traded again. However, only certain transactions that served to fulfill obligations between market participants and foreign business partners were permitted. According to the information, this related to transactions entered into before February 28 with business partners from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia.
The shares of Russian companies such as the gas monopoly Gazprom, the oil company Lukoil and the state airline Aeroflot collapsed after the war began, which is why trading in the securities was simply suspended. With the ban, the central bank wanted to avoid distortions resulting from the sanctions of western countries. The ruble, which continued trading, plunged to record lows against the dollar and the euro.
The US government criticized the actions of the Russian stock exchange. “This is not a real market and not a sustainable model, which only underscores Russia’s isolation from the global financial system,” Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said on Thursday. Russia has made it clear that it will invest state funds in artificially supporting company shares.