Cboe halts trading in VanEck Russia ETFs

(Reuters) -Exchange operator Cboe Global Markets on Friday declared a regulatory halt in trading on the VanEck Russia ETF, which has tumbled since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

Cboe also said it was halting trading of the much smaller VanEch Russia Small-Cap ETF.

“Cboe BZX Exchange has declared a Regulatory Halt in RSX and RSXJ that is effective for all U.S. equities markets. As a result of this trading halt in RSX and pursuant to its rules, trading in the options in RSX on Cboe’s options exchanges has been halted,” a Cboe spokesperson said in an email.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West’s financial sanctions, and Moscow’s controls on money entering and leaving Russia, the VanEck Russia ETF has tumbled over 60% in the past week, including a 2.4% drop on Friday.

On Wednesday, VanEck said it was temporarily suspending the creation of new shares of its main Russia ETF.

Investors exchanged about $88 million worth of the fund’s shares on Friday, down from an average of $309 million per session over the past 30 days, according to Refinitiv data.

Following its deep losses, the fund has a market capitalization of about $300 million, according to Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Noel RandewichEditing by Chris Reese amd Sandra Maler)