FX.co ★ New peace activists’ motto: Make trade, not war!

Good news is a sound reason for growth. Information on cease-fire regime in Donbass has sparked the Russian ruble and Russian stock indices rally. The quote on MICEX surged after Russia and Ukraine agreed on the steps needed for a truce. Just in a few minutes, the stock indices gained several tens of points. Thus, the MICEX index rose 2.81%; the RTS was up 4.45% compared with the closing price of the previous trading day. Papers of Gazprom, Farmstandart, Sberbank and NOVATEK led the gains. Evgeniy Selyanskiy, the Senior Vice President at BCS said that the market reacted positively to the news. “We are witnessing mass closure of short positions and increased activity of buyers. The reason is that Ukraine and Russia’s presidents outlined a peace plan for Donbass.” He also added that the views of both presidents are on the way to resolve difficult situation in the region.
Following the improvement in shares’ quotes, the Russian ruble recovered against its U.S. peer. RUB scored 60.95 kopeks to USD and accumulated 75.9 kopeks against EUR. The exchange rate was nearing the level of 36.853 and 48.4215 rubles, respectively. Ukrainian market also returned to growth after the encouraging news. The UX index edged up 4.48% to 1,220.49 points. The shares of Motor Sich, Centrenergo, Donbassenergo and Raiffaizen Bank Aval rose the most. The presidents of both countries are monitoring the situation, staying in touch by holding phone conversations. Poroshenko’s press office said that a mutual understanding was achieved concerning the steps which will enable the establishment of peace.
Such reaction of the market proves once again that it is better a lean peace than a fat victory.