MSCI says Russian markets are ‘uninvestable’; indexes reclassified from ’emerging’ to ‘standalone’

MSCI
MSCI,
+2.14%
said it consulted with a number of institutional investors, who it said overwhelmingly confirmed that “the Russian equity market is currently uninvestable and that Russian securities should be removed from the MSCI Emerging Markets Indexes.”

MSCI said it will continue to monitor developments and “may issue additional guidance or announce further changes relevant to specific indexes, if necessary.”

The index provider FTSE Russell, a unit of the London Stock Exchange
LSEG,
+9.39%,
on Thursday said it was removing Russia from all its indexes, effective from Monday’s open.

“Following consideration by the FTSE Russell Index Governance Board of the feedback received from the independent advisory committees, other market participants and given the current market conditions, FTSE Russell announces that in accordance with Rule 2.1 of the FTSE Russell Index Policy ‘In the Event Clients are Unable to Trade a Market’ Russia will be deleted from all FTSE Russell Equity Indices effective from the open on Monday 07 March 2022,” it said.

Russian stock markets have remained closed this week amid global sanctions targeting Russian businesses and individuals in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. The ruble’s
USDRUB,
+14.65%
value has collapsed and stocks of some of Russia’s largest companies have crashed on the London Stock Exchange.