Investors piled out of Russian stocks Friday after the abrupt departure from
the country of a foreign oil boss and the prime minister's unexpected severe
criticism of a large steel firm.
MICEX, the exchange where the bulk of trading in Russian stocks takes place,
plunged by 4.8 percent as of 12:20 p.m. Russian time, while the RTS, a top stock
index, lost 4.4 percent to drop beneath the critical 2000-point barrier for the
first time since March.
After Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's scathing attack on Mechel late
Thursday, heavy trading in New York sent the steel and coal maker's stock down
by nearly 40 percent, losses mirrored Friday morning in
Russian trading.