The Russian stock market fell by 6.5% "on geopolitics" - and this is without bad news The Russian market no longer needs threatening headlines to sell “on geopolitics”. Today and without any serious news about negotiations with the United States or sanctions, he survived the worst collapse since March 2020. The Moscow Exchange index lost 6.5%to closing, losing all growth since the beginning of 2021, and the dollar rate for the first time since last spring reached 77 rubles.

Preliminary data from a study in South Africa suggests that omicron could bring the world closer to the end of the pandemic because the strain causes less severe symptoms and provides protection against the delta variant. Scientists examined samples of 23 people infected with the omicron strain of coronavirus in November and December, writes Bloomberg.

Most analysts expect the markets in 2022 will not bring investors the same high profitability as the last three years, and some predict the correction. One of the main recipes against market fluctuations and crises is diversification, but the question of how exactly and how deep the portfolio should be diversified remains extremely debatable.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken agreed to meet on January 21 in Geneva, reports Kommersant , citing its own data. Before that, Blinken, according to the newspaper, will visit Kyiv and Berlin. On the evening of January 18, the heads of the foreign ministries spoke by phone, discussing the outcome of negotiations on security guarantees.

By the end of trading, the Moscow Exchange index fell by 6.5%, the RTS index fell even more - by 7.3%. Pressure on the Russian stock market is exerted by geopolitical risks that even expensive oil cannot compensate for. At the moment, the Moscow Exchange index fell by 7.35%. Shares in all sectors of the economy are falling in price. The fall leaders are Sberbank (-9.17%), Gazprom (-8.7%), VK (-6.8%), Yandex (-6.15%), Lukoil (-5, 6%).

Microsoft has announced that it has acquired gaming giant Activision Blizzard, known for such cult projects as World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and Call of Duty, for almost $70 billion. The deal is expected to accelerate the growth of Microsoft's gaming business on mobile devices, PCs, consoles and services in the cloud, and will also become one of the fundamental elements for the future metaverse.

Geopolitical risks continue to put strong pressure on the Russian market, even high oil prices do not help. The Moscow Exchange Index on Tuesday fell by almost 5.5% and continues to decline, the RTS index lost about 5.9%. The shares of technology companies are getting cheaper, most of all VK (at the moment the company's quotes fell by almost 8%), the financial sector (Sberbank's securities lost more than 7.3%), oil and gas companies (Gazprom's quotes fell by 5.4%) .

The quarantine period for Russians with COVID-19 will be halved - from 14 days to 7, said the head of the operational headquarters Tatyana Golikova. She also announced other new changes for citizens that will appear in the coming days. At a meeting of the Presidium of the Government Coordinating Council for Combating Coronavirus, Golikova announced that Russia would reduce the time spent in quarantine for COVID-19 patients.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called on employers to transfer staff to remote work if this does not interfere with the production process. In Russia, 1682 cases of “omicron” have already been recorded, on January 10 there were about 300 of them. So far, according to Mishustin, the increase in the incidence has not led to a sharp increase in the number of hospitalized patients. The Prime Minister also announced the postponement of the Russian Investment Forum from February to a later date.

The omicron strain has already begun to dominate in Moscow and the Moscow region, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Tuesday. Against this background, the authorities announced the extension of covid restrictions. Sobyanin said that in the coming days, Omicron will completely replace Delta, and therefore the incidence of COVID-19 will double this week. Last week, the number of infections in the capital has already doubled.

Former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev made his first public appearance since the protests in the country - he made an appeal in which he stated that he had not left anywhere and was on a well-deserved rest.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken "will talk soon, " Kommersant reports , citing its own data. According to the publication, the negotiations are being prepared against the backdrop of consultations held in January on security guarantees. Over the weekend, Blinken discussed by phone with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg the next steps after the Russia-NATO Council meeting.

Apple shares are traditionally one of the most popular papers in Russia. According to the results of December, they were in the portfolios of 12.1% of private investors with the Mosbirzhi - only Alibaba and Tesla. We tell you why in recent months Western investment battles are changing their assessment of Apple shares. This material was written specifically for our new newsletter for private investors. Want to become her subscriber? Leave your email here .

Sales of new passenger cars in Europe in December 2021 decreased by almost a quarter, and at the end of the year decreased by 1.5% and became the worst in almost thirty years, writes Bloomberg. The European car market in December shrank throughout the second half of the year, even to the figures of 2020 - this indicates the scale of the supply crisis, including the shortage of chips.

Singapore-based TikTok Pte. Ltd posted a form for Russian users to contact on their resources. This is one of the three main requirements of the law on "landing" for foreign IT platforms with a daily audience in Russia of 500 thousand people. The fact that TikTok posted an electronic feedback form was reported by Roskomnadzor. The remaining two requirements - opening a branch in Russia and creating a personal account on the regulator's website - have not yet been fulfilled.