MOSCOW, March 4 (RIA Novosti) – Stocks mustered a gentle rally Tuesday following a day when about $60 billion was wiped off Russian markets as share prices plummeted on fears of war in Ukraine.
The MICEX Index rose 3.9 percent on Tuesday, while the dollar-denominated RTS climbed 4.1 percent.
The gains went some way toward correcting the losses experienced Monday when markets in Moscow recorded their biggest one-day fall since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the United States signaled the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. The MICEX lost 10.8 percent, while the RTS dropped 12 percent.
The corrections Tuesday appeared to be fueled by an announcement from the Kremlin that President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian troops back to base after a series of military drills in the west of the country.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is due to arrive in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Tuesday to continue diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea, seized by Russian-aligned troops last week.
The Russian currency also rose on Tuesday after sharp falls Monday morning. The dollar declined Tuesday by 22 kopeks to be worth 36.29 rubles, and the euro fell 26 kopeks to 49.91 rubles.
Investors were apparently spooked on Monday after Russia’s upper house of parliament approved a request on Saturday from Putin to deploy armed forces in Ukraine.
