The Russian stock market will remain closed on Wednesday, while trading on the foreign exchange market will open, the country’s central bank said in a statement.
Trading in shares of the Moscow Exchange has been closed since February 25. When markets reopen, investors expect a strong sell-off due to the war with Ukraine and Western sanctions. Shares of many Russian companies traded in London and New York fell to a cent per share before trading on those markets was suspended.
Governments often close stock markets during crises and wars to stop the panic. This gives officials time to strengthen other parts of the financial system. The New York Stock Exchange closed for four days after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The Russian foreign exchange market will open at 10:00 Moscow time, the Central Bank reported. Also, money markets will be opened, where short-term loans between banks and other financial institutions are traded, and the repo market.
The Russian ruble has lost 40% of its value against the dollar this year and has fallen further this week in trading outside of Russia. However, traders said ruble transactions have become more difficult as Russia imposed capital controls designed to make it harder to sell, and Western banks struggling with sanctions no longer want to transact in the Russian currency.