Absence of drivers means flat opening of Russian stock market

MOSCOW, Jun 30 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open close to flat on Thursday as a neutral external background provides it with no strong drivers, while the oil price also stopped rising, analysts said.

“The influence of the key factors on behavior of the Russian stock market is close to neutral at the beginning of the day,” Oleg Shagov, head of the research department at investment company Solid, said.

“We expect the market to open in flat in the range of 1,885–1,890 of the MICEX index.”

The Brent oil price fell 1.02% to $50.10 per barrel as of 9.10 a.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange, while U.S. stock index futures are falling and Asian floors are showing no common dynamics, Shagov added.

“Today the two-day increase (of Russian stocks) may stop. Comments after the E.U. summit (on Brexit) did not provide any drivers as leaders of continental Europe promised to learn their lesson of the U.K. referendum and called on the British side to fill out an official request to switch to a procedure of controlled exit,” Olma’s senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazvoanie, said that lower oil price may push the Russian market down at opening “with a moderate decrease of about 0.3% of the MICEX index in a 1,880–1,885 range.”

Mikhail Krylov, head of research at investment company Golden Hills Capital AM, said that falling oil may also prompt a mixed opening of the Russian stock indices, with the RTS index falling to 926 points, but MICEX rising to 1,901 points “supported by improved external background and relations with Turkey.”

Besides the oil price, investors will also track speeches by heads of the Bank of Russia, the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve System later in the day, Shagov said.

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