Falling oil prices, weak ruble push Russian stocks down

MOSCOW, Jun 1 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks decreased on Wednesday, as oil prices continued falling ahead of an upcoming OPEC meeting putting pressure on the ruble as well, analysts said.

The MICEX fell 0.31% to 1,893.18 and the RTS decreased 1.53% to 890.52.

“The Russian stock market continued falling today on the back of negative oil price dynamics,” Finam analyst Bogdan Zvarich said.

Oil prices are falling for a second consecutive day, as market participants are cautious ahead of Thursday’s OPEC summit, which can increase volatility on the hydrocarbon market, InstaForex analyst Igor Kovalyov said.

Oil prices falling below U.S. $50 per barrel put pressure on the Russian ruble as well, Forex Club analyst Irina Rogova said.

Metals and mining firms were among outsiders, with steel producer Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) falling 2.31%, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) decreasing 4.74%, and coal producer Raspadskaya losing 2.51%, Zvarich said.

Power producer E.ON Russia and flagship carrier Aeroflot were among growth leaders, having risen 3.64% and 1.59%, respectively, the analyst said.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Wednesday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.91	131.36	8.482
Lukoil	+0.39	2580.00	6.566
Gazprom	-0.55	144.70	4.200
Rosneft	-0.95	313.00	1.432
Norilsk Nickel	+0.43	9029.00	1.335

(65.9962 rubles – U.S. $1)

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