Russian stock market declines on oil price plunge to yearly low

MOSCOW, Dec 18 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market decreased on Tuesday on heavy volumes as oil prices hit a 14-month low, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.37% to 2,350.29, and the RTS index decreased 0.66% to 1,106.05.

“The external background remains negative. Oil hit a 14-month low, the risks of new restrictions from the U.S. are mounting,” Andrei Kochetkov, Otkritie Broker’s analyst, said, adding that market activity was unusually high.

Brent plunged 2.01% to U.S. $58.41 on the ICE Exchange as of 4:22, Moscow time, after a Reuters report that total December oil production by Russia, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has increased by 3.5 million barrels since the start of 2018, or more than 3% of the global consumption, Kochetkov said.

Vasily Oleinik, investment company Finam’s expert, said that foreign markets fell, while the U.S. S&P 500 closed at a record low since October 2017. But the Russian market decreased a bit deeper than the rest of the world due to the oil price dynamics.

According to Kochetkov, the oil and gas sector suffered most as the ruble remained stable, while oil prices decreased.

Aeroflot grew 0.55% on the back of an expected fuel price fall.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.36	186.6	14.678
Lukoil	-3.43	4925	6.951
Gazprom	-1.07	151.89	4.551
Rosneft	-0.93	412.15	2.241
Norilsk Nickel	-1.03	13212	1.796

(66.6208 rubles – U.S. $1)

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