Shares in Russia-focused mining company Evraz sank on Monday as fears grew Russia was on the verge of invading Ukraine.
Evraz shares were down over 30% in early trade on Monday as investors fled the stock to avoid the impact of any economic consequences from sanctions imposed by the west if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Evraz has operations across Europe and North America but earns the majority of its revenue in Russia from the production of steel.
The company produced 2.9m tonnes of steel in Russia in Q4 2021 and 480,000 tonnes in North America.
Evraz shares fell in a broad market sell off as investors scaled down their risk positions after comments from US officials over the weekend that Russia could begin an invasion at any moment.
“We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,” said Jake Sullivan, the US president’s national security adviser.
Russia have denied they are preparing an attack but after the weeks of growing tensions, Monday finally saw sharp moves in markets as investors repositioned portfolios.
“Just as the storm of Covid appeared to be receding, the growing expectation of an invasion of Ukraine is the fresh threat now unnerving investors, with confidence plunging in many parts of the world,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
Today’s drop in Evraz shares will be particularly painful for Chelsea-owner Roman Abramovich who owns 29% of the company.