Russia Expands Trading to All Shares, but Foreigners Still Can’t Sell (2024)

Full coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Russia Expands Trading to All Shares, but Foreigners Still Can’t Sell

The benchmark MOEX index declined 1.1% Monday—the first day that the Bank of Russia allowed trading in all Russian shares. Only 33 stocks were allowed to trade when the market reopened last week.

Russia shuttered its stock market after the West unleashed sanctions targeting the country’s banking system and the central bank’s access to its foreign-currency reserves. Moscow has slowly eased these restrictions, though foreigners remain unable to sell their shares, stalling an expected selloff.

Before the war, foreigners owned around three quarters of the shares available to public investors in Russia, known as the free float, and were responsible for around half of the trading volume each day. Russian shares listed in London and New York plunged after the war began, and many have been delisted or suspended because of the sanctions.

Limiting foreigners from selling shares helps safeguard the ruble, which has recouped some of its losses from earlier this month in recent sessions. Foreign stockholders selling ruble-denominated shares would likely move that money into euros or dollars, weakening the value of Russia’s currency once again.