Trading in Russia’s largest stock market was mysteriously interrupted on Wednesday for nearly two hours before resuming.
It’s not clear what caused the trading halt, but the MICEX exchange apologized for the “inconvenience” and said the issue is “being investigated.”
The halt occurred at 4pm local time in Moscow, three hours before the normal close. Trading resumed at 5:50pm local time and the exchange said it would push back the closing bell by 30 minutes.
Related: Europe slaps new sanctions on Russia
The trading issues come at a delicate time, as the U.S. and European Union slapped Russia with another round of sanctions this week tied to the standoff with Ukraine.
The new sanctions target Russia’s finance, energy and weapons industries, as well as eight of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “cronies.”
Related: Russians pay higher price for isolation
But Russian stocks reacted positively to the sanctions announcement, since they weren’t as tough as investors had feared. The MICEX had been up 1.95% before trading was interrupted. The index trimmed its gains following the halt, recently trading about 1.2% in the green.