Moscow Exchange indexes fall 3% in one minute

The Russian market has felt the consequences of the US sanctions.

The indexes of the Moscow Exchange fell 2.5-3% in the first minute of trading on March 21. In particular, the MICEX stock index was down 2.46% to 1,288 points, and the RTS index fell 2.8% to 1,115 points, Lenta.ru reports.

The indexes dropped amid investors' fears of consequences of the US sanctions slapped on Russian businessmen and politicians.

President of the United States Barack Obama extended sanctions against Russia on March 20 to include 20 persons, among them businessmen Yuri Kovalchuk, Gennady Timchenko, head of the Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin, businessmen Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.

The sanctions were also imposed against member of the State Duma Sergei Zheleznyak, aide to the president Andrei Fursenko, chief of staff of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, leader of A Just Russia party Sergei Mironov, State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin. Bank Rossiya has also been hit by the sanctions.