Russian Stock Market Plunges After Oil Cut Decision

The Russian stock market had fallen sharply after a decision was taken to reduce oil production quotas by only 50,000 barrels a day instead of the 500,000 barrels OPEC had requested. The NIKoil company reported that LUKOIL shares had lost 4.5% of their value, YUKOS 1%, Surguteneftgaz 3% and UES Rossii 2%. Other Russian shares also sustained losses, including Rostelekom and Nornikel. Market players are not so much scared by the current price of oil, but by the prospect of the world oil market falling further, believes NIKoil analyst Alexei Kazakov.