Russian stock edge down on negative foreign environment, local events

MOSCOW, Dec 15 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged down on Friday weakened by the negative global background, bailout of Promsvyazbank and an 8-year sentence to former Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.39% to 2,143.99 and the RTS dropped 0.44% to 1,148.27.

“Although the world’s key central banks, including the Federal Reserve, were careful (in their key rates revision), investors looked uninterested in risky assets. Stock exchanges around the globe traded mostly in the negative territory amid uncertainty about the (U.S.) tax reform… The Russian market was no exclusion,” Sergei Melnikov, chief analyst at Forex broker Global FX, said.

He added that bailout of Promsvyazbank, the country’s 9th largest by assets, was another trigger for a downward movement. Promsvyazbank lost 7.42% to 0.0661 rubles.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the domestic stock market was mainly pressured by the external background and an 8-year sentence and a 130 million ruble fine for Ulyukayev.

He also said that the market almost ignored the central bank’s sudden decision to reduce the key interest rate by 50 basis points, to 7.75% annually from 8.25%, although the dividend yield of some stocks trading on the open market will now obviously exceed the yield of OFZ government bonds.

Below are the MOEX Russia Index’s five most active stocks on Friday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.47%	226.53	9.655
Gazprom	-0.3%	135.5	3.405
Lukoil	-0.97%	3420	2.598
Norilsk Nickel	-0.69%	10595	1.826
Aeroflot	+1.27%	143.6	1.460

(58.7082 rubles – U.S. $1)

End