Late July was the moment investor sentiment in Russia turned from exuberance to despair. What seemed a one-way bet of high returns based on soaring commodity prices, rapid economic expansion, political stability and improving investor rights crumbled and died. In September, the rout in the Russian stock market intensified, culminating in its closure for two days in a desperate bid to stop panic selling. But its plunge has still wiped out more than half the value of equities compared with the May peak.
The Russian central bank has been forced to intervene heavily in currency markets to stem a flight of capital and has set the printing pressess rolling to supply investment banks with liquidity. For all that, the rouble has fallen since the start of August.
