MOSCOW (Reuters – Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank suffered a dramatic drop of more than 8% on Friday. This led to a sell-off in the stock market, which impacted several blue-chip companies as well as bonds and the rouble.

After its largest one-day decline in 15 months, the rouble fell volatile on concerns that geopolitical tensions could escalate. This was after negotiations between Russia and Western allies ended without a breakthrough.

A cyberattack hounded Ukraine, sending a message across the government sites warning people “be fearful and expect the worse”. Meanwhile, Russia released photos of additional troops moving on to the border of Russia.

The shares in the state-owned Sberbank fell to 249.20 rubles, the lowest level since November 2020. They were also down 5.6% at 1444 GMT.

Sberbank’s nearest rival VTB shares dropped 3.2%. It also fell behind the larger MOEX index by 2%, down at 3,602.6 point after hitting its weakest point in April 2021.

Russia’s top technology firms were also hit by the collapse of Nasdaq, which listed them as internet companies. Yandex (NASDAQ): Moscow stock exchange shares dropped 2.7% and London’s rival VK stocks fell 10.4%.

($1 = 76.6650 roubles)