Ruble Soars, Stocks Fall as Russia Holds Ukraine Referendum

.10 go through56 Green UTC. The ruble rose 2.5% against the euro 11.. Currency controls and month-end taxation analysts said the ruble was boosted by Russian exporters converting their foreign exchange earnings into rubles to pay the finance ministry despite geopolitical headwinds. Inventories are deep as markets remain jittery about how Russia’s mobilization will affect the conflict. The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 1.8% to 1, 25.5 points. The ruble-based MOEX Russia index was down 3.6% at 2, 14.4 points. The Russian stock market has been responding to mobilization orders and a referendum on joining Russia in four regions of Moscow and Ukraine all week. The European Union said Moscow’s new move raised the prospect of further economic sanctions from the West and it will discuss a new package of penalties. had enough free cash flow to pay an interim dividend after surging in Thursday’s trading day, Gazprom (MCX) : 400GAZP) Friday’s pullback was in line with the broader market, with d in rubles, owning 2.6%. “Russian markets are dominated by negative sentiment today…Friday factor seems stronger than market participants don’t risk taking long positions over the weekend,” said Zarina Saidova, an analyst at Moscow-based Finam Investments. For a guide to Russian stocks, see For Russian national debt, see 56