Low oil price to drag Russian stocks down at opening

MOSCOW, Nov 12 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open lower on Thursday pummeled by falling oil prices, analysts said.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open lower with the RTS index falling and the MICEX index close to 1,735. The key negative factor for the Russian market is a fall of oil prices, and if it continues, pressure on the shares may increase further,” Oleg Shagov, a head of investment company Solid’s analytical department, said.

The Brent oil price slid about 3.4%.

“From the point of view of technical analysis, the end of trading below 850 points of the RTS index means higher risks of a further downward correction. The oil price dynamics may be considered as a pressure factor for the stocks,” investment company Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev said.

Other factors are almost neutral as the U.S. stock index futures are edging up, Asian bourses show no unified dynamics and Europe’s premarket session shows an easing of prices, Shagov said.

Investors will wait for a speech of the U.S. Federal Reserve System’s Chairwoman Janet Yellen and Fed’s other representatives later today, and also track the release of U.S. jobless claims data.

End