Can investors stay optimistic about Russian stocks?

Investors look to profit from Russia as Donald Trump pushes for peace in Ukraine, but is it worth the risk?

Moscow Kremlin on economic data background. Sanctions in Russia
(Image credit: Getty Images)

“War and peace are notoriously difficult to price,” says The Economist. Yet with Donald Trump pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine, investors are starting to do exactly that. The Russian rouble has rallied more than a third this year against the dollar, and the local MOEX share index has gained 15% on bets that Russia’s heavily sanctioned economy might “become slightly less walled off”.

Sanctions make direct dealing in Russian assets all but impossible for Westerners, but Russian-linked firms that trade in other markets have been booming. Hong Kong-listed aluminium miner Rusal is up 63% this year, while shares in Raiffeisen – an Austrian bank with interests in Russia – have rallied more than a third.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.