Bargain hunters have been out in force today buying up stocks with Russian connections.
Evraz PLC (LSE:EVR), up 20% today, is the big name that will catch the eye but two small-caps – Zaim Credit Systems PLC (LSE:ZAIM) and Amur Minerals Corporation (AIM:AMC, OTC:AMMCF) – have also bounced back strongly today.
Zaim is up 25% today, cutting its decline since 25 February (the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine) to 33%. The company issued a reassuring statement this morning explaining that its business has not really been affected at all by the sanctions the West imposed on Russia.
READ Zaim Credit Systems says business is unaffected by sanctions against Russian banks
Its Zaim-Express business mainly earns its corn issuing microloans online via its website and mobile application and through a network of its branches in and around Moscow and as such is not affected by international restrictions on using the SWIFT international payment system.
“Zaim Express and its systems are working as normal and it continues to serve its clients in the normal course of business with as yet no significant deviation in business performance,” the company said.
Amur Minerals, meanwhile, is up 59% today and is down just 15% since the invasion of Ukraine.
The company is focused on base metal projects in the far east of Russia and has previously indicated that the sanctions will not have any effect on its business.
The company is in any case in discussions to sell its Irosta Trading subsidiary, which owns the company's principal asset, the Kun-Manie nickel-copper sulphide project in far-east Russia.
Several Russian companies have lost more than nine-tenths of their market value since the invasion (and the collapse in the value of the Russian ruble), among them OAO Severstal (99.6%), OAO Novatek (99.5%), Sberbank of Russia (OTC:AKSJF) (98.9%), OJSC Novolipetsk Steel (98.8%), Polyus PJSC (95.0%), OAO Tatneft (92.1%) and MMC Norilsk Nickel (2.1%) - te last despite the price of nickel soaring to a record level of US$100,000 a tonne.