The VanEck Russia ETF plunged 21.7% in morning trading to a 23-month low, with all components tumbling, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine and fears of sanctions prompted investors to flee the fund. The ETF was on track to suffer its second-biggest percentage decline since it started trading in 2007, behind only the 22.3% drop suffered on Nov. 12, 2008 in the midst of the 2008-09 financial crisis. The third-biggest decline was 17.3% on March 9, 2020 amid the COVID-19 crisis, while the next three biggest declines were all during the financial crisis. Among the ETF’s U.S.-listed components, shares of search engine Yandex N.V. plummeted 56.5%, ecommerce portal Ozon Holdings PLC tumbled 42.3%, internet services VEON Ltd. sank 30.0% and wireless communications Mobile TeleSystems PJSC shed 7.8%. Elsewhere, the over-the-counter listed shares of energy company Gazprom PJSC dropped 33.6% and of commercial banker Sberbank Rossia plunged 70.9%.
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