Kiev - Ukraine's government on Wednesday ordered the country's leading PFTS stock exchange to stay closed throughout the day, the Interfax news agency reported. The decision came after the market hit a record low on Tuesday, and was widely predicted to continue a plunge of as much as 12 per cent a day, observers said.
The PFTS lost 11 per cent overall value on Tuesday, with banks plummeting between 22 to 26 per cent, and metals producers slumping 13 to 16 per cent, the Dragon Capitol trading house reported.
Ukraine's government has been locked in a constitutional crisis for more than two months and has struggled to take steps to control economic damage from recent drops in foreign shares exchanges.
The country's once-strong currency the hryvna has in the last two weeks lost close to 20 per cent of its value against the US dollar, which internationally is weakening as well.
