Moscow Exchange indices collapsed amid the news about the war in Donbass

The Moscow Exchange index fell below 3200 points on February 21 by 14:40 Moscow time, while at the opening of trading the indicator was 3368 points.

“The RTS index, as of 14:50, fell by 9.29% to 1262 points”, - the Dozhd TV channel notes*.

A sharp drop was shown by the shares of large Russian companies. The quotes of Norilsk Nickel, Severstal, Rusal, Lukoil, Rosneft, and Surgutneftegaz lost significantly in price. The securities of Alrosa, Novatek, RusHydro, VTB, and Magnit fell in price. The most significant drop was observed in the securities of Yandex - by 8.4%, Gazprom - by 8.16%, Sberbank - by 9.38%, Aeroflot - by 10.23%. Shares of Inter RAO immediately fell by 15.7%.

The euro rose to 88.7 rubles, the dollar - to 78.19 rubles.

By evening, the panic on the stock exchange had intensified. By 16:52 Moscow time, the ruble index of the Moscow Exchange fell by 8.72% during trading to 3,097.52 points. The index fell below 3,100 points for the first time since November 2020.

According to trading data at 17:11 Moscow time, the Moscow Exchange index accelerated its fall to 3,076.31 points (-9.34%). The RTS index fell by 11.81% to 1,227.53 points, finanz.ru notes.

At the same time, the ruble continued to fall against the dollar in foreign exchange trading to 78.95 rubles, depreciating by 2.13%, the euro rose to the level of 89.51 rubles. (+2.23%).

A sharp deterioration in investor expectations began amid reports of Russia's possible recognition of the independence of the LPR and DPR and the imminent introduction of Western sanctions because of this, which are likely to intensify the fall of the ruble.

Investors' panic is fueled by the mobilization of men announced on the territory of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, as well as the evacuation of women, the elderly and children to Russia announced on their territory.

Since February 18, flows of refugees have poured into the border regions of Russia. The total number of evacuated residents of the DPR and LPR who crossed the border crossings exceeded 61,000 people. People keep coming. The Ministry of Emergency Situations expects that the total number of refugees from Donbass in Russia may exceed 700,000 people.

In five regions of the Russian Federation, because of the refugees, a state of emergency has already been declared. At the same time, the inhabitants of some regions were divided into two camps. Some call to show humanity and shelter residents of a neighboring state fleeing shelling, while others say that "they themselves live like refugees - without gas and with meager salaries".

“Yes, they will not come to us - they will not survive in our conditions with stoves and a toilet on the street. They also flee from Kostroma, especially young people, in search of a better life and who has the opportunity. Maybe at first we should do something for our own people so that there is no such outflow? ”, Kostroma.Today quotes comments from residents of the Kostroma region.

Earlier, similar disputes began on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region, whose authorities, unlike the subsidized Kostroma, have already agreed to accept refugees from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine on their land.

*Included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of media-foreign agents.