Russia's most liquid stock exchange, the rouble-denominated MICEX has been suspended trade for two days after blue chips posted double-digit losses in the first 35 minutes of trade, tracking hefty losses on Wall Street.
Overnight interbank lending rates spiked to nearly 9 per cent as investors turned to the money markets to raise cash.
Both the MICEX and the dollar-denominated RTS exchange were suspended from 8.05am (Irish time). The RTS said it would resume trade on instructions from the Federal Financial Markets Service, the stock market regulator.
The RTS index, Russia's benchmark share index, fell 11.25 per cent to 761.63, its lowest level since July 2005, before the exchange halted trade.
The MICEX had fallen 14.35 per cent to 637.87 when it was suspended.
"From a market point of view, they (the exchange) had to get a sense of the (trading) situation," a trader at a major Russian bank said. "Closing it was justified, although it was probably not justified to open it in the first place."
Regulators have stepped in to delay or suspend trading in Russian equities regularly in recent weeks. Trade was delayed for 2-1/2 hours yesterday but proceeded on schedule this morning, contrary to traders' expectations.
Reuters