The Moscow Exchange Index fell 2.45% during trading on July 6, dropping to 2,187.83 points, RBC reported.
The index has not fallen below 2,200 points since February 27, 2023.
Among the biggest decliners were shares of VTB (-10.5%), Inter RAO (-9.9%), and Transneft’s preferred shares (-8.4%).
According to remarks by Alfa Investments analyst Alexey Devyatov, the market is being affected by “the still-difficult geopolitical situation and the Central Bank’s tight monetary policy.” He noted that, for now, “there are no signs of a trend reversal in sight, so investors prefer to pull their money out of stocks.”
“Additional negative factors for the Russian stock market are cheaper oil and a strong ruble. These affect the revenues of exporters, whose weight in the Moscow Exchange Index exceeds 50%,” he added.
On June 22, the Moscow Exchange Index lost 4.23% in a single day, dropping to 2,318.28 points, marking its steepest one-day decline since September 26, 2022. Analysts said this was driven by the Bank of Russia’s decision to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points instead of the expected 50. The stock market “read” this as a signal of future problems in the economy.