Low oil prices, unfavorable geopolitics to drag Russian stocks down

MOSCOW, Jun 6 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks are likely to open lower on Tuesday as the oil prices have fallen below the psychologically important level of U.S. $50 per barrel and the world’s geopolitical situation does not favor risky assets, analysts said.

“Today, downward correction of the RTS index may continue under the influence of external factors. The oil price dynamics is still unfavorable for the Russian market, as Brent futures trade below $50 per barrel, and geopolitical risks make investors run for defensive assets – for instance, gold prices rose almost 2% last week,” Anton Startsev, a leading analyst at investment company Olma, said.

Oleg Shagov, head of investment company Solid’s research department, said that the general background prior to the opening of the Russian stock market is neutral as U.S. stock index futures are changing insignificantly, the Asian floors show no common dynamics, and the Brent oil price is waiting for the release of the monthly forecast by the U.S. Department of Energy.

“We expect the Russian stock market to open in a 1,875 range of the MICEX index and suppose that the stock indicator will remain around the level under the influence of the external background and of current events,” Shagov said.

But Alexei Antonov, an analyst at Alor Broker, expects Russian stocks to rise at the beginning of the day in correction to Monday losses.

Shagov also said that local investors will track news from the Arbitration Court of the republic of Bashkortostan, which is to consider oil major Rosneft’s suit against multi-industry holding Sistema about its actions when it owned a controlling stake in oil company Bashneft.

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