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Follow the link to learn moreRussian shares fell to one-week lows on reports the EU will impose new sanctions against Russia tomorrow.
The MICEX stock index closed down 1.3 percent at 1449.63 and the RTS index was off 1.7 percent to 1217.88. Ruble-priced benchmark stocks fell up to 3.1 percent on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX: MOEX).
Aeroflot (MOEX: AFLT) plummeted 3.1 percent, as the airline is thought to be among the most vulnerable companies amid the fresh sanctions: Russia has indicated it may respond to the sanctions by restricting flights over Russian territory by European airlines, which pay Aeroflot some $300 million a year for the right to use the Trans-Siberian route to Asia.
There were also drops for Sberbank (MOEX: SBER) (-3 percent, 2.4 percent prefs), Novatek (MOEX: NVTK) (-2.7 percent), Transneft (MOEX: TRNF) (-2.3 percent), VTB (MOEX: VTBR) (-2 percent), and Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) (-1.8 percent).
Second-tier decliners included Mediaholding (-17 percent), Veropharm (MOEX: VRPH) (-10.2 percent), Alrosa (-4.7 percent), Protek (MOEX: PRTK) (-3.5 percent), Raspadskaya (MOEX: RASP) (-2.9 percent), Enel OGK-5 (MOEX: OGKE) (-2.8 percent) and Uralkali (MOEX: URKA) (-2.5 percent).
There were gains for IDGC Center (MOEX: MRKC) (+3.4 percent), VSMPO-Avisma (MOEX: VSMO) (+3.1 percent), PIK Group of Companies (+2.6 percent), Magnit (+1.2 percent), Mostotrest (MOEX: MSTT) (+1.1 percent) and Dixy Group (MOEX: DIXY) (+1 percent).
The Mechel (MOEX: MTLR) group's Chelyabinsk Metals Plant (MOEX: CHMK) soared 40 percent, as it did yesterday, on anticipation it will be sold.
Combined trading volume on the main Moscow Exchange market was 30.806 billion rubles, of which 11.862 billion rubles in Sberbank ordinary shares.
