The Russian stock market underperformed its peers by a wide margin this year, with losses rippling through major benchmarks and sparking concerns about the resilience of Moscow’s financial sector. The RTS index, measured in dollars, declined steeply as the year progressed, marking it as the weakest performer among 92 global benchmarks tracked by Bloomberg on a local-currency basis and ranking as the third-worst when viewed in dollar terms. The ruble-denominated MOEX index fared even worse, sliding by about 44 percent, a decline not seen since the global financial crisis years of 2008. These moves reflect a combination of intensified sanctions, shifts in global commodity demand, and persistent uncertainty surrounding the geopolitical landscape that has dominated headlines for nearly the entire year. The broader takeaway for investors in Canada and the United States is a stark reminder of how geopolitical risk can translate into severe market dislocations, especially in commodity-linked economies where energy and metals prices interact with fiscal responses from both Western allies and Moscow. (Bloomberg)
