OGZPY - Russian ETFs crumble as sanctions heat up

Russian-based exchange traded funds slide deep into negative trading territory in premarket action as tensions escalate. Western governments have now imposed stricter sanctions on Russia over the weekend and Vladamir Putin, placed Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert. Sanctions have now cut off a handful of Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment network and some Central Bank of Russia transactions. In response, Russia has banned airlines from 36 nations from using Russian airspace in retaliation for Western sanctions. As a direct result of all of the latest sanctions, the VanEck Russia ETF (BATS:RSX) is -24.5% and leading the downward spiral for Russian funds. RSX is also the largest Russian ETF with over $775M assets under management and led by Gazprom (OTCPK:OGZPY) as its top holding weighted at 8.55%. The ETF is also down 56.7% year-to-date. Moreover, the iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF (NYSEARCA:ERUS), VanEck Russia Small-Cap ETF (BATS:RSXJ), and Franklin FTSE Russia ETF (NYSEARCA:FLRU) are

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Russian ETFs crumble as sanctions heat up