Russian stock market surges on news of Trump’s U.S. election victory

The Moscow Exchange Index surged 3 percent on Wednesday morning, exceeding 2,700 points, on the news that Donald Trump had won the 2024 U.S. presidential race. Experts told Forbes Russia that Russian investors expect the returning American leader to reduce geopolitical risks.

For Russian market traders, Trump’s victory brings “tentative hopes for a shift in rhetoric and approaches,” BCS Express expert Mikhail Zeltser told Forbes. In November 2016, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to take the White House for his first term, the Moscow Exchange Index grew by 13 percent over the next two months, Zeltser pointed out. 

In the intervening years, however, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and sweeping international sanctions have lowered Russia’s sensitivity to foreign market dynamics. For example, while the S&P 500 index remains at historical highs on expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut, the Moscow Exchange Index is currently at annual lows amid the Russian Central Bank’s tight monetary policies.