NYSE suspends trading in three Russia-exposed ETFs

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange Arca halted trading in three Russia-focused exchange traded funds (ETFs) on Friday, following tightening of economic sanctions by Western governments against Russia after its military invasion of Ukraine.

The exchange stopped trading in iShares MSCI Russia ETF, Franklin FTSE Russia ETF and the Direxion Daily Russia Bull 2X Shares due to regulatory concerns, according to its website.

These trading halts are temporary and not suspensions or delistings, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

BlackRock Inc, which manages the iShares ETF, said in a statement it supported the move due to the ETF’s concentrated exposure to Russian equities, the closure of the stock market in Moscow and MSCI’s decision to remove Russian securities from its indexes.

The asset management giant said it will update clients on future developments related to the ETF.

Financial products provider Direxion on Thursday eliminated all of RUSL ETF’s market exposure whose assets will be held in cash until it liquidates on March 18, the company said.

A spokesperson for NYSE declined to comment, saying the exchange does not comment on regulatory matters.

Both NYSE and Nasdaq Inc have temporarily halted trading in shares of Russia-based companies due to regulatory concerns.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and John McCrank in New York; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)