MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Trading System (RTS) index plunged 7.38% from Friday's close to below 2,000 on Monday afternoon amid a continued slump on the Russian equities market on negative data from world trading floors.
As of 3:25 p.m. (12:25 p.m. GMT), the index of the RTS, a premium stock exchange in Russia, fell to 1999.63 points.
World stock exchanges have seen heightened volatility in recent weeks following the financial turmoil provoked by the U.S. subprime mortgage loan crisis and fresh signs of a recession in the world's largest economy.