Russian finance minister says S&P downgrade shows 'pessimism'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Monday S&P's decision to downgrade Russia's credit rating to junk status showed the "pessimism" of the agency and failed to take into consideration stronger aspects of the Russian economy.

He also said the decision was unlikely to affect capital markets as it had already been priced in.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Writing by Thomas Grove; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)