The London Stock Exchange said on Thursday that it has suspended trading in dozens of Russian stocks, including Russia’s largest bank Sbrebank and the giant energy company Gazprom.
“The FTSE Russell index business has removed Russian listings from its indices, the London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in Russian listed securities,” London Stock Exchange CEO David Schwimmer told CNBC on Thursday.
The exchange said the suspensions were part of an effort to “maintain orderly markets” as investors scramble to divest themselves from Russia and cut ties with the Russian economy.
Shares of Sberbank at one point traded at less than one cent on the London Stock Exchange.
Russian stocks have plunged amid a widespread sell-off. Companies and investors looking to sell stocks on Western stock markets have had trouble because so few investors are willing to purchase the stocks, even at extreme discounts. Sberbank shares had fallen by around 99.72 percent year to date before the suspension. Shares of Gazprom were down 93.71 percent.
Russia’s central bank has kept its stock market largely shuttered for the fourth day in a row. Deutsche Boerse has also suspended trading of Russian stocks and bonds.
MSCI said it is pulling Russian stocks from its indexes of global securities, describing the Russian market as “currently uninvestible.”
Also on the LSE suspension list announced Thursday are energy company Lukoil, Russia’s largest gold producer Polyus, and Novolipetsk Steel.
The Dow Jones Russia GDR Index, which tracks London-traded Russian companies, has plunged 96.7 percent since the Russian attack. The slump has wiped out $572 billion from the market value of 23 stocks, according to Bloomberg News
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.