£430 Billion Wipeout: Russian Stocks Crash 98% On London Indexes

£430 Billion Wipeout: Russian Stocks Crash 98% On London Indexes
UK-listed depositary receipts of Russian companies are evaporating in value as sanctions take effect.

The Dow Jones Russia GDR Index, which tracks London-traded Russian companies, has plunged 98% in two weeks.

The slump has wiped out $572 billion (£430 billion) from the market value of 23 stocks, including Gazprom, Sberbank of Russia and Rosneft, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Wednesday’s continuing selloff triggered a wave of volatility halts.

Within the first four hours of trading, dealing was briefly paused at least 15 times for lender Sberbank, state-run gas giant Gazprom and retailer Magnit.

Trading in VTB Bank was suspended last week following sanctions.

The Dow Jones Russia GDR gauge, which tracks 11 of the largest Russian companies listed in London, fell as much as 81% Wednesday, taking a decline since February 16 to 98%.

Depositary receipts for Sberbank have slumped 99% this week, while Gazprom fell 98% and steel producer Severstal PJSC lost almost 100%.

Rosneft Oil tumbled 79% and Lukoil sank 99%.

Europe is carving up Sberbank’s business in the region after sanctions sparked by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a run on its local deposits.

Meanwhile, European energy companies are distancing themselves from Gazprom, with Shell and Italy’s Eni ending joint ventures.

With the Russian central bank taking the unusual step of closing stock trading on the Moscow exchange, the movement in shares of Russian firms listed elsewhere is an indication of how local equities may react to the sanctions once it eventually resumes.

The three-day shuttering of stock trading is the longest closure for extraordinary circumstances since October 1998, according to the bourse.