Russian stocks plunge to 2.5 year low within 2 hours of opening trade

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Russia's MICEX stock-market index dropped 8.5 percent, or well below 1,000 points, within the first two hours of Tuesday trading, hitting a two-and-half year low. By noon Moscow time the MICEX fell to 976.6 points, driven down by telecom major Rostelekom, which shed 21.4 percent, and hyrdroelectric company RusHydro, which was down 13.8 percent. Russia's largest lenders, Sberbank and VTB were down 4.5 and 8.5 percent. The U.S. dollar-denominated RTS index was down 6.5 percent, at 1,194.4 points, driven down by weakness in global markets, declining oil prices and financial concerns in Russia. Markets were roiled by uncertainty about the fallout from the debt crisis in the United States and the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers.