MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russian equities saw sharp declines on both bourses by the close on Friday, and experts say the downward trend may continue.
The MICEX index fell 3.53% to 1,300.21 points with trading volume exceeding $3.1 billion, while the RTS slipped 1.94% to 1,504.9 points; experts predict it may slide further next week, to 1,430 points.
A "wave of declines among Russian blue chip prices" on Friday was a reaction to "negative dynamics of the European and the U.S. stock indices, which fell after the release of U.S. statistical data on Thursday, provoking investor concerns of a slowdown in U.S. economy and a drop in corporate profits," said Oleg Shagov, an analyst with Promsvyazbank.