Russian stock market falls for 4th session before recovering

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Amid unprecedented tension over the Ukraine issue, the Russian stock market on Tuesday declined for the fourth consecutive trading day before recovering to close in positive territory.

The Moscow Exchange, MOEX, fell to as low as 2,756.46 points during trading hours to close the day at 3,084.74 points for a 1.58% gain, according to official figures.

The RTS Index, which has identical component stocks as MOEX but is denominated in US dollars, closed at 1,226.69 points.

Russian oil company Rosneft saw its stock price decline 5.5% as of 17.20 GMT, but natural gas firm Gazprom shares were up 6.1%, figures showed.

The MOEX Index, which is denominated in rubles, posted a 16.7% decline from last Thursday through Monday.

After falling for three straight days, the Russian ruble against the US dollar also recovered slightly and was trading at 0.01259. The parity lost 6.47% from last Thursday through Monday.

The US dollar against the ruble was at 79.3909, down 0.46%. The euro against the ruble was at 89.9941, a 0.26% fall.

Western countries on Tuesday vowed harsher sanctions against Russia, including financial entities, after Moscow recognized two separatist-held regions of Ukraine and ordered in Russia troops to "maintain peace."