Idealess Russian stocks may open flat for lack of drivers

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open flat on Thursday as the external background still provides them with no strong drivers for any kind of movement, while the prices for oil, the backbone of the country’s economy, have stabilized, analysts said.

“The ultimate influence of the key factors that provide a significant influence on the Russian stock market is close to neutral at the beginning of the day,” Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said.

The Brent oil price is fluctuating around a $56 per barrel mark under the pressure from data of the American Petroleum Institute, which showed a significant increase of the U.S. oil reserves. The U.S. stock index futures are changing insignificantly, and main Asian floors show no common dynamics, Shagov said.

“We expect the market to open close to a 2,180–2,185 range of the MICEX index and suppose that the indicator will stay around the current levels later in the day due to a low pre–New Year investment activity of investors,” Shagov said.

But Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said that the Russian market may open with a fall of about 0.2–0.3% of the MICEX index close to a 2,180 mark as the oil prices are under pressure. “The levels of 2,170 and 2,160 will become the closest significant support, while 2,190 and 2,200 will act as resistance,” Manzhos said.

Still, the external background favors no aggressive sales of Russian shares, Manzhos said.

Investors will track U.S. weekly jobless claims statistics later in the day, he added.

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