Russian stocks plunge after Trump cuts deadline for Putin
Photo: Russian stocks plummeted after Trump announced a shorter deadline for Putin (Getty Images)
The Russian stock market entered a sharp decline after US President Donald Trump announced he was shortening the deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine, The Moscow Times reports.
It is noted that the Moscow Exchange index, which reflects the stock prices of Russia’s largest companies, fell from 2,777.3 to 2,727.2 points following Trump’s statement.
Within one hour (from 2:55 p.m. to 4:08 p.m. local time), the index lost 1.8%, or $1.4 billion in market capitalization.
By 4:31 p.m., shares of Sberbank had dropped 1.22%, Gazprom by 2.77%, Lukoil by 1.11%, and Sovcomflot by 2.24%.
Other companies also suffered losses: Mechel’s shares fell nearly 3%, Novatek by 3.2%, and Aeroflot decreased by 4%.
Additionally, the ruble weakened significantly: the yuan rose almost 2% to 11.27 rubles, while the dollar exchange rate on Forex increased by 2.1%, reaching 81.05 rubles.
Trump’s new deadline
US President Donald Trump announced he has decided to change the terms of his ultimatum regarding secondary tariffs for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin's leader no longer has 50 days to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine.
According to the American leader, the Kremlin head now has only 10 to 12 days left.
Earlier, Trump also announced plans to impose 100% secondary tariffs on countries that continue trading with Russia.
Additionally, the US President stated that he is considering not only secondary tariffs but also secondary sanctions against Russia.
