Stocks entered a so-called bear market and the ruble sank the most against the dollar in more than eight months Thursday as Europe’s debt crisis drove investors from riskier assets and commodities.
The MICEX Index dropped 4.3 percent to 1,263.99 for its lowest close since Nov. 6. The dollar-denominated RTS Index sank 5.6 percent, retreating 22 percent from an April 15 peak and surpassing the 20 percent threshold that constitutes a bear market. The ruble weakened to its lowest against the dollar since Sept. 7.
Markets slumped worldwide as uncoordinated attempts by policymakers in Europe to resolve the region’s debt crisis unnerved investors, pushing the euro to near a four-year low against the dollar. Crude, Russia’s chief export earner, slumped as much as 4 percent to $67.05 a barrel in New York as a stronger greenback curbed appetite for oil.
“Investors are incredibly nervous,” Vladimir Savov, head of research at Otkritie, said Thursday. “It’s hard to make out where this nervousness is coming from and where it will end.”