By Rachel Nielsen

Russian markets took a small bath Tuesday and the ruble continued to get a scrubbing by the dollar, following mixed global markets and lowered oil prices.

The MICEX Index dipped 2.2 percent to close at 1384.79. Losers on the ruble-denominated exchange included oil giants LUKoil and Rosneft, which both fell more than 5 percent, as well as Sberbank and Norilsk Nickel, which were each down more than 3 percent.

On the dollar-denominated RTS Index, the market decline was greater, with a 2.8 percent drop that left the index at 1444.33.

Meanwhile, the ruble added to its Monday losses against the dollar, falling 0.8 percent to 30.34 rubles per dollar. The Monday loss came after Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said Friday that the ruble may reach the upper limit of the regulator's currency basket in "the near term."

The Russian currency is now at its lowest point against the dollar since Dec. 22.

The main factors in Tuesday's ruble drop were external, said Alexandra Yevtifyeva, senior economist at VTB Capital. Typically, she said, "the currency reacts to the general mood in the equity markets," and on Tuesday Russian exchanges "took the lead from the Asian markets."

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite Index both posted decreases of 2.4 percent.

Mark Rubinstein, deputy head of research for Metropol, attributed the drops in Russia partly to "negative dynamics in the markets in Europe," with slight drops during Europe's intraday trading amplified in Russia's bourses. He also said profit taking and oil's continuing descent were weighing on stocks.