President Donald Trump has acted more friendly toward Russia and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Consequently, market observers are speculating that the Trump administration could be more willing to roll back sanctions placed on Russia in response to its actions against Ukraine.
Alternatives to RSX, also the most heavily traded Russia ETF, include the iShares MSCI Russia Capped ETF (NYSEArca: ERUS), SPDR S&P Russia ETF (NYSEArca: RBL) and the VanEck Vectors Russia Small-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: RSXJ).
More aggressive traders have also turned to the Direxion Daily Russia Bull 3x Shares (NYSE: RUSL), which attempts to deliver triple the daily returns of the same index tracked by RSX. The Direxion Daily Russia Bear 3x Shares (NYSEArca: RUSS) looks to deliver triple the daily inverse returns of that index on a daily basis.
“Tighter economic constraints are not likely to dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin from engaging in future foreign policy adventures … as Washington reengages with Moscow, it must not run roughshod over Russia’s neighbors,” according to a Foreign Affairs magazine piece cited by Barron’s.
As is often the case, Russian stocks trade at noticeable discounts to broader emerging markets benchmarks. RSX has a trailing 12-month P/E ratio of just 9.49, according to issuer data.