Aeroflot leads Russian stock slide on 2nd day of trading

Russian stocks dropped on Friday in their second day of trading after a nearly month-long suspension, with losses led by airline Aeroflot, which has lost more than a quarter of its value over two days, reports Reuters.
The benchmark MOEX stock index was down 2.9 per cent at 2,506.2 points by 0856 GMT, having hit a peak of 2,761.17 points on Thursday, when it closed 4.4 per cent higher.
The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 3.2 per cent to 828.2 points.
Prior to Thursday, stocks had not traded on Moscow's bourse since Feb. 25, the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of troops into neighbouring Ukraine, prompting Western sanctions aimed at isolating Russia economically and then Russian countermeasures.
On Friday, more securities, including corporate bonds and Eurobonds were being traded, though restrictions remain on trading by foreigners alongside a ban on short selling.
Commodity stocks had led Thursday's rebound with double-digit growth, but almost all securities lost ground on Friday.
The biggest loser was airline Aeroflot which dropped about 13 per cent, adding to Thursday's 16 per cent loss.
State lenders Sberbank and VTB also fell 3.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively.
Oil major Rosneft was an exception, gaining 0.5 per cent, while Lukoil lost 3.5 per cent.