Russian and Western traders and brokers are optimistic following Donald Trump's election victory, the Financial Times reported, citing market sources.
“All the talk this morning is about how to trade Russia and whether sanctions will be thrown off... [traders at Western banks] are questioning suddenly whether the ruble is now tradeable,” FT wrote.
The value of Russian assets rose in the first few hours after the U.S. election results were announced, adding over 3.5% to the Moscow Exchange Index (IMOEX), with Gazprom, Novatek, Ozon and Aeroflot among the growth leaders.
Sources told FT that a few Western banks do still trade the ruble offshore via non-deliverable forwards, a kind of derivative that allows investors to bet on the price of the currency at any given time.
“This is what [Russian investors] have been waiting for, because the stock market and war are not very compatible, and doubtless any sign of a possible end to war is interpreted by investors in a very positive way,” Sergey Romanchuk, the former head of trading at Russia’s Metallinvestbank, was cited as saying by FT.
“The majority of investors think that the victory of Trump is preferable for the Russian government, as he has promised in one way or another to stop the military conflict in Ukraine,” he added.
This article was originally published by bne IntelliNews.
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