NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ukraine's PFTS Stock Exchange suspended trading Friday from 12:45 p.m. local time until 3 p.m. after the benchmark PFTS index tumbled 7%, according to a statement from the exchange. "There is somewhat of a meltdown in the Ukrainian financial markets," said Lars Christensen, chief analyst at Danske Bank. "Politically, the situation is very, very bad in Ukraine. We have now been in a state of permanent political crisis for almost two years." Earlier this week, Ukraine was plunged into political turmoil after the coalition government broke up amid disagreement between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Yushchenko has warned he might call early general elections. Ukraine's latest political crisis is escalating at a time when investors are already nervous about geopolitical risk in Eastern Europe following last month's military conflict between Russia and Georgia. Russia's RTS stock index fell 3.7% and finished the week with a loss of nearly 11%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.






Go to Full Article