In this file photo taken on February 28, 2022, a man walks past Moscow’s stock market building in downtown Moscow. Natalia KOLESNIKOVA / AFPThe Moscow stock exchange ended 2021 in fine form: a record number of companies were listing their shares, foreign money was flowing in and ordinary Russians were keen on investing.The market crashed as indices tumbled 30 per cent and were closed the next day, putting it under a dark cloud and leaving investors out in the cold.
“I’m completely frustrated,” said Anna Meshchanova, a 30-year-old graphic artist. “I don’t know what to do.”“I thought it was important to have a financial airbag and retirement savings as there is no guarantee the state will pay a good pension,” Meshchanova told AFP. She is considering whether to transfer her US shares, held by a Russian broker, to an international one.Russian banks and stock exchanges had been working for years to attract investors, rolling out new mobile apps to make it easier for them to dabble in stocks. Financial blogs and podcasts flourished.
But already in October, the growing geopolitical tensions that led up the conflict in Ukraine began to weigh on Russian share prices and the inflow of investments began to slow. Analysts expect inflation to surge even higher in the coming months as the ruble’s collapse feeds through into prices for imported goods.