MOSCOW: Russian shares and the rouble fell on Tuesday after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, raising the prospect of an escalation in tensions between Russia and Turkey, a NATO member state.
At 1005 GMT, Russia's dollar-denominated RTS index was down 2.1 percent to 878 points, while the rouble-based MICEX was 1.5 percent lower at 1,839 points.
Both indexes were broadly flat before Turkey said it had downed a Russian-made warplane after warning it 10 times in the space of five minutes about violating its airspace.
The Turkish military did not confirm the plane's origin, but Russia's Defence Ministry said one of its fighter jets had been downed in Syria.
The rouble also slipped on news the jet had been shot down. It was trading down 0.2 percent against the dollar at 65.92 and down 0.4 percent against the euro to 70.22 .
"Obviously short term the market will likely be nervous over the potential for a Russia-Turkey clash, but I think both sides will be very eager not to escalate this," Nomura strategist Tim Ash said in a note.
"I doubt we will see pressure for retaliation, especially given Turkey's position as a NATO member," Ash added.
Stemming losses in Russian assets, Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.9 percent at $45.2 a barrel after Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would work with non-OPEC producers to help stabilise prices.
Russian exporters have also been converting a portion of their foreign-currency revenues into roubles ahead of end-of-month taxes, helping underpin the Russian currency. Value-added tax, mineral extraction tax and excise taxes fall due on Wednesday.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.