The MOEX Russia Index nosedived Thursday amid the country's invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
The index itself halved as Russian equities took a beating and international investors looked elsewhere for safe places to park their money.
ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images
The Moscow exchange then halted trading early Thursday morning only to resume about two hours later.
The massive swing soon caught the eye of market watchers globally:
MOEX's drop erased around $150 billion in value on Thursday, while the Dow tumbled 800 points before paring back losses, a sign that the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe is affecting bourses (a stock market in a non-English-speaking country, worldwide.
Where Do Investors Head Now?
Investors looking for a less volatile haven for their capital have been ploughing into gold, pushing it to a one-year high on Thursday at $1,970 an ounce. There has also been a rush into oil, with WTI crude oil soaring to the highest its been since 2014.
