How Russian exchanges work 1 Martha

And what happens to Russian securities on foreign exchanges

Moscow Exchange and SPb-Exchange clarified working hours. And MSCI announced the possible exclusion of Russian companies from its indices.

Working hours of exchanges

Moscow Exchange. Morning and evening sessions canceled until 5 Martha. The currency and money markets work with 10:00 to 19:00 in Moscow. Stock and futures markets 1 March not working. Trading mode 2 March will be announced later.

"SPb-Exchange". 1 March, the main trading in international securities will be launched in 17:00 in Moscow. The exchange did not say, which will limit trading in individual securities. 28 February, the exchange did not allow issuers listed on foreign exchanges to trade.

NYSE And Nasdaq. American stock exchanges suspended trading in Russian securities due to sanctions. This is Yandex, Ozone, Cian, HeadHunter, MTS and Mechel.

Russian companies may be excluded from MSCI indices

In response to sanctions, the Bank of Russia banned brokers from accepting orders to sell Russian securities from non-residents. According to index provider MSCI, now Russian stock market "unsuitable for investment".

MSCI fears, that investors can get stuck in Russia: “There is no point in including Russian securities in indices, if our clients cannot make transactions in the market. The next possible step is to exclude Russian securities from our indices.”.

The company will consult with institutional investors and issue an additional message before the end of the week.

One such institutional investor is exchange-traded fund provider BlackRock.. Some BlackRock funds replicate MSCI indices. For example, iShares MSCI ACWI ETF. It is a global fund of world stocks.

As of July 2021, total share of Russian shares, e.g. Sbera, "Gazprom", Inter RAO and others, at MSCI ACWI was 0,4%. Here's how BlackRock explained such a small share back in December 2021:

“Investing in Russian securities involves significant risks: Legal, Regulatory, monetary and economic, - which are specific to Russia. Besides, investing involves risks of losing the ownership of the fund.

A number of jurisdictions, including USA, Canada and the European Union, imposed economic sanctions on certain Russian individuals. Besides, Russia, presumably, sponsored cyberattacks on foreign companies and governments.

All this may affect the Russian economy and Russian issuers.”.

The influx of foreign investment is one of the stock market growth drivers. And the mass exodus of non-residents can negatively affect not only the ruble exchange rate, but also for the long-term stock market.

Share of countries in the MSCI ACWI index by 25 February 2022

60,5%