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Russian markets fall steeply in early trading

MOSCOW - Russian stocks dropped sharply in early trading on Wednesday, continuing the sharp losses in a market that officials a few months ago were touting as a haven from the global economic crisis.

The benchmark RTS index lost around 8 percent in the first 10 minutes of trading, and the index for the MICEX exchange, where most of Russia's trading takes place, decreased by 13 percent.

Russia's once-booming market has suffered from plummeting prices for oil, the backbone of the economy, and from other consequences of the worldwide economic meltdown. Russian stocks also were driven down by concerns about the war between Russia and Georgia in August.

Russian markets suffered their worst-ever day of trading Monday and took a minor dip Tuesday despite President Dmitry Medvedev's announcement of moves to ease liquidity concerns in the banking system.