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Did Vladimir Putin fully understand the economic damage his decision to invade Ukraine would do to Russia? For the third day in a row, the Moscow Stock Exchange is closed, and there’s no telling when it will open again. The ruble has crashed so far it is essentially worthless. Capital controls are panicking the populace, and the country’s famed “Oligarchs” are watching as their assets are seized worldwide. The WSJ reports:
Russia’s financial markets will remain largely closed for a third straight day, as national authorities keep trying to stem the financial fallout from sweeping international sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
With limited exceptions, neither stock nor derivatives trading will resume on the Moscow Exchange on Wednesday, the Bank of Russia said in an early morning statement.
On Monday, the central bank undertook an emergency interest-rate increase, more than doubling its benchmark rate to 20%, in an attempt to counteract huge selling pressure on the Russian ruble.
James Wilhite writes elsewhere for the WSJ:
Russia’s financial markets will remain largely closed for a third straight day, as national authorities try to stem the financial fallout from sweeping international sanctions. Bitcoin is nudging higher, as Russians’ growing financial isolation has boosted the profile of a monetary network largely untethered from government control.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will give testimony this morning on Capitol Hill on the state of the economy and monetary policy. OPEC and its allies are meeting today to set output quotas. Read our full market wrap here.
Meanwhile, our Caitlin McCabe and Charley Grant report that American companies face little exposure to the impact of Russian sanctions, but global energy markets may be more at risk.
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