Russian stocks hit Fresh low on Europe

Russian stocks continued their plunge on Tuesday, reaching fresh five-month lows as investors took flight due to worries over Greece’s political deadlock and Europe’s mounting debt. By 12:26 p.m. Moscow time, the ruble-denominated MICEX index fell by 1.3 percent to 1,320.45 points, hitting its lowest level since early October 2011, while the dollar-denominated RTS sank by 0.9 percent to 1,388.84 points, the lowest level since December 30, 2011. Russian stocks continue to sink despite an upward correction in West European stock indexes and the Brent oil price stabilizing above $110 per barrel. The political deadlock in Greece has prompted investors to dump riskier asserts and buy dollars as a safe haven. Greece, now teetering on the brink of a sovereign default, has come to an impasse after the country’s main political parties failed to narrow their disagreements over a painful bailout deal struck with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in exchange for tight austerity measures.