THANKS, UR:

While Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were talking through their disagreements in negotiations in Moscow late on Wednesday, the Micex Index closed at its lowest level since before the U.S. election on Nov. 8. By 12:55 p.m. in Moscow on Thursday it had slid another 0.6 percent.

A spat this month between Russia and the U.S. over Syria has erased any last remnants of optimism among investors that Trump will make good on campaign promises to improve strained relations between the two countries. While in November the Micex rallied on bets Donald Trump's election victory would result in a lifting of sanctions that have damped growth since 2014, now traders are starting to price in the prospect of new penalties against the Kremlin.

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