The Russian ruble slumped in MICEX trade and Russian stocks were lower on Tuesday in the wake of S&P’s decision to put six leading eurozone economies on the list for possible downgrade.
As of 11:24 a.m. Moscow time (08:24 a.m. GMT), the ruble had fallen by 19 kopeks against the U.S. dollar to 31.0995 and by 0.5 kopecks against the single European currency to 41.5918. The value of the bi-currency basket, comprising $0.55 and 0.45 euros, rose by 13 kopecks to 35.83 rubles compared with Monday’s close.
The dollar-denominated RTS stock exchange lost 1.48 percent to 1,536.14, while the ruble-denominated MICEX fell 0.9 percent to 1,504.18.
International Brent oil prices are hovering at $109.2 per barrel, showing a decrease of 0.6 percent on yesterday’s close.
International ratings agency Standard & Poor's announced late on Monday it had put six leading eurozone economies with the highest AAA rating, including Germany and France, on the list for possible downgrade.
A total of 15 out of 17 eurozone economies were put on the "CreditWatch" list, which means that there is 50 percent possibility that their ratings will be downgraded within 90 days, S&P said.
"Systemic stresses in the eurozone have risen in recent weeks to the extent that they now put downward pressure on the credit standing of the eurozone as a whole," S&P said on its website.
"We now assign a 40 percent probability of a fall in output for the eurozone as a whole," the statement said.
The rating of six eurozone economies with the highest AAA rating - Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg and The Netherlands - may be downgraded by one notch and by up to two notches for the other governments.
The eurozone sovereign ratings may be reviewed "as soon as possible" in the wake of the EU summit to take place on December 8-9.
