MOSCOW, Sept 17: Russia suspended trading on its two main stock markets for the second day on Wednesday as shares nosedived and officials pledged $44 billion to fight collapsing investor confidence.

The Federal Service for Financial Markets (FSFM) halted trading on both the RTS and the MICEX after they fell 6.39 per cent and 3.09 per cent respectively, market officials said. The stock markets remained closed all day.

The move came a day after Russian stocks suffered their worst one-day drop since the 1998 financial crisis, with the RTS falling 11.47 per cent on Tuesday and the MICEX falling 17.45 per cent despite a one-hour suspension of trading on both markets.

The meltdown prompted Russia’s central bank to slash reserve requirements for banks in a bid to restore confidence, as central bank head Sergei Ignatyev said he hoped for a “normalisation of the situation” in several days.—AFP