Russian stocks tumbled steeply again yesterday amid a lack of fresh incentives for investors depressed by a gloomy outlook for the Russian economy, traders said.

At 6 p.m. the leading Russian Trading System index stood at 143.46, down 9 percent from Friday's close, and only nine points above two-year lows hit earlier this month.

Traders said the continued slump, which wiped 18 per cent from equity values last week, reflected a realisation by investors that foreign loans themselves are not enough to turn the economy around. Clear signs of economic reform will be needed to entice investors again. "It's really more of the same that we saw before the IMF stepped in earlier in the month," said a trader.