S&P Cuts Russia To Junk Status, Ruble And Shares Fall

Russia’s credit rating was cut by S&P Monday from BBB- to BB+, the first tier of the non-investment grade, ‘junk’ ratings. It was the first time in more than 10 years the country was rated below investment-grade.

S&P also maintained a negative outlook, which could indicate the potential for further rating downgrades.

For investors with a mandate to only invest in investment-grade securities, the downgrade could force more capital to flow out of Russia.

The ruble continued to fall versus the U.S. dollar on Monday and recently traded at the 68.6625 level.

Russian ADRs also fell, Gazprom OAO (ADR) (OTC: OGZPY) was down 9.12 percent to $4.39 while LUKOIL (ADR) (OTC: LUKOY) declined 5.88 percent to $42.13.

Market Vector Russia ETF Trust (NYSE: RSX) fell amid the downgrade and recently traded at $14.74, down 7.53 percent.