Crimea-Induced Trading Surge Stokes Moscow Exchange Rally
By Ksenia Galouchko and Halia Pavliva Mar 26, 2014 5:48 AM ET
OAO Moscow Exchange is emerging as one of the winners from the rout sparked by Russia’s worst confrontation with the U.S. since the end of the Cold War.
Shares of the bourse have rallied 20 percent since March 13, before voters in Crimea moved to join Russia. The stock is among the best performers on the Micex index, which has risen 6.8 percent in that period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Moscow Exchange stock gained 0.8 percent to 58.53 rubles by 1:43 p.m. in the Russian capital, reducing its month-to-date decline to 6.9 percent.
Daily equity trading volumes at the exchange surged to a record 72 billion rubles ($2 billion) in the first three weeks of March, compared with an average of 35 billion in February, the bourse said yesterday. Russian stocks have posted the biggest price swings since 2011 in the period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The Moscow Exchange is clearly benefiting from the current volatile environment,” David Nangle, the head of research at Renaissance Capital in Moscow, wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “There is nothing negative for their business in the short term, from all that is going on on a geopolitical level. Revenues will be correlated with volume increases.”
Further Sanctions
The Bloomberg Russia-US Equity Index of the most-traded Russian stocks in the U.S. rallied 2.5 percent to 82.62 in New York yesterday, led by OAO Gazprom. The Market Vectors Russia ETF, the biggest U.S. exchange-traded fund that holds Russian shares, climbed 3 percent to 23.02. While the Micex advanced 0.7 percent to 1,333.29, extending yesterday’s gains, the measure is down 11 percent this year and entered a bear market this month.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-25/crimea-crisis-spurs-moscow-bourse-rally-as-trading-jumps.html