Even before it was clear on Tuesday exactly what the EU sanctions against Russia would look like, investors on the Moscow stock exchange reacted: they bought.

The UK had previously announced its punitive measures, which investors interpreted as "soft".

The same applied to what leaked out in media reports about the European sanctions package.

Since the large, state-controlled banks Sber and VTB will not be affected by the British or European measures, their papers have soared.

The leading index Moex, which is calculated in roubles, was also able to make up some of the losses it had suffered up to that point.

Catherine Wagner

Business correspondent for Russia and the CIS based in Moscow.

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The price losses that started on Monday had previously continued.

On Monday afternoon, as a reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of the separatist areas in eastern Ukraine and the dispatch of more Russian soldiers to the areas, the Moex lost a good 14 percent at times, the most in one day since 2008.

The dollar-denominated RTS index fell by a good 13 percent at the close of trading;

the ruble lost 3 percent against the dollar and stood at just under 80 rubles per dollar.

The price falls also affected Russia's energy companies: the largest, state-controlled oil producer Rosneft lost 18 percent on Monday, the gas company Gazprom, which is also under the control of the Kremlin, a good 10 percent.

On Tuesday, however, Gazprom partially recouped the previous day's losses, while Rosneft shares fell further.

chaos in the market

"Chaos reigns on the market," said the analyst of the investment company Aton, Mikhail Ganelin, to the business portal RBK.

Investors were still trying to assess the explosive nature of the situation.

A large part of the sales can be explained by "margin calls": investors are asked to make additional equity payments on credit-financed securities holdings.

If they can't deliver them, they have to sell.

According to Ganelin, some investors also assumed that the worst was over.

They now mainly bought commodity securities such as those from Gazprom – in the expectation that the announced sanctions would be directed more against the financial sector than against commodity groups.

The stop on the certification of Nord Stream 2 announced by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was not noticeable on the Moscow stock exchange.

The ruble also fluctuated on Tuesday.

After initial losses, its value against the dollar rose by 1.39 percent to 78.67 rubles per dollar around midday - after the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it would recognize the "people's republics" within their existing borders.

Investors took this as a good signal – it is feared that Russia could occupy additional territory within the eastern Ukrainian regions beyond these borders.

Investors also initially parted with Russian government bonds – further sanctions could also be directed at them.

Russia's government debt index, RGBI, fell to just over 120 points on Tuesday, the lowest since early 2016, but later rose again.

The central bank meanwhile announced the first support measures for the financial sector.

Accordingly, Russian banks are allowed until October 1st not to report losses from exchange rate fluctuations since February 18th on their balance sheets.

The central bank is also expected to support the ruble with currency purchases.