MOSCOW: The Russian rouble weakened and stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday, hurt by rising risk aversion as Republican candidate Donald Trump closed in on the U.S. presidency.
At 0713 GMT, the rouble was 0.4 percent weaker against the dollar at 63.98 and had lost 2 percent to trade at 71.64 versus the euro on the Moscow Exchange.
On the interbank market, the rouble's reaction was sharper still as it briefly hit 64.85 against the dollar, its weakest since Sept. 20.
"The rouble will inevitably suffer from a flight to quality assets," Finam brokerage said in a market commentary.
Russian assets fell victim to a sell-off in global markets. Contrary to expectations that Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton would narrowly win the U.S. vote, Trump was close to winning the White House race.
"We believe a Trump win would be negative for Russian equities due to trade headwinds and heightened recession risks that favour a stronger dollar and weaker emerging market FX risk," Citi analysts said in a research note.
The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 1.2 percent to 960.9 points, while the rouble-based MICEX lost 0.8 percent to 1952.6 points.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 1.6 percent at around $45.3 a barrel, adding to pressure on the Russian market.
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