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Russian investors have embarked on a stunning turn-around, sending the
country's leading stock exchanges upward so quickly that officials were
forced to briefly suspend trading.
Officials stopped trading on the RTS and Micex two times Friday, after both indexes soared more than 20 percent.
While
investors welcomed the gains, apparently emboldened by efforts to shore
up financial markets around the world, Russian officials called for the
suspensions because they feared trading could get out of control.
Both
the RTS and Micex were plagued by massive losses earlier in the week,
forcing officials to suspend trading Wednesday and Thursday. The
plunge had some economists and investors worried about a repeat of the
country's 1998 financial collapse.
On Thursday, Russian
President Dmitri Medvedev promised an additional $20 billion to help
stabilize the country's financial markets.
The Finance
Ministry also said it will lend the country's three largest banks an
extra $2 billion in an effort to spur more lending.
Finance
Minister Alexei Kudrin said the credit crisis in the United States has
made it difficult for Russian banks to offer loans, slowing the economy.
Investor
confidence has fallen in the wake of the Russian-Georgian conflict, and
also has been shaken by the recent drop in oil prices. Russia's RTS
Index of leading stocks has plunged about 60 percent since June.
Europe's
BNP Paribas Bank also says investors have pulled $35 billion out of
Russian since armed hostilities with neighboring Georgia.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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