Russian stock can open higher backed by rising oil, US benchmarks

MOSCOW, Mar 19 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market may open slightly higher on Tuesday thanks to the U.S. benchmarks and crude prices seen in the positive territory, analysts said.

“The external background may be described as close to neutral… The local market may open slightly higher… We expect the MOEX Russia index to rise by an insignificant 0.1–0.3% near the 2,490 mark at the opening… and consolidate later in the day,” Vitaly Manzhos, senior risk manager at investment company Algo Capital, said.

The major U.S. indices futures and the Brent oil price are seen around 0.1% higher while the Asian markets are trading 0.1% lower, he added.

Olma senior analyst Anton Startsev expected a lull on the market in the next two days ahead of a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s open market committee. The technical analysis points to the possibility of restoration of the RTS index’s upward trend, he said.

Russian traders will also follow 2018 financial results releases by real estate developer LSR Group and power producer Unipro, and dividend decisions by independent gas producer Novatek and fertilizer producer PhosAgro.

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