The Federal Financial Markets Service halted trading on the RTS and MICEX on Wednesday after share prices plummeted to their lowest levels in nearly three years amid worsening global financial troubles.
In a move to shore up market liquidity, the Russian government said on Wednesday it would lend up to 1.12 trillion ($44 billion) to state-controlled Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank, the main market-making banks, which would subsequently offer loans to small and medium banks.
On Thursday, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the three banks would allocate an extra 60 billion rubles ($2.36 billion) to credit stock market players against the pledge of securities.
Russian monetary and financial authorities say the latest developments on the domestic market have been caused by a crisis of confidence rather than by a liquidity squeeze.
Meanwhile, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that the country had sufficient resources to ensure financial stability, and pledged all necessary support for the market.
"The market will receive the necessary support," he said.
Medvedev suggested that the government allocate around $20 billion, with 50% of the sum to come from the federal budget, to support the stock market.
