Russian stock market rout wipes out $250 bn in value after Ukraine attack

Russian assets nosedived as military attacks across Ukraine prompted emergency central bank action and investors braced for the toughest round of Western sanctions yet, wiping out as much as $259 billion in stock-market value.

The ruble sank to a record low, the cost of insuring Russian debt against default soared to the highest since 2009, and stocks collapsed as much as 45% -- their biggest-ever retreat. The Bank of Russia said it will intervene in the foreign exchange market for the first time in years and take measures to tame volatility in financial markets.  

The military attack on Ukraine cast