Russian stock market falls as negative geopolitics continues

MOSCOW, Apr 22 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market fell on Friday amid no positive changes in the geopolitical tension over Ukraine, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 1.71% to 2,232.23 and the RTS decreased 3.45% to 928.30.

“Pessimistic moods prevailed at the global stock floors on Friday and in Russia they were presented particularly clear. Investors are going into the weekend amid no positive geopolitical changes,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The fall of the Russian indices could be partially attributed to some pressure caused by a statement of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the negotiation process with Ukraine came to a standstill, Kozhukhova added.

The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS remain below the short-term resistance points of 2,510 and 980 and it makes them subject to a new wave of reduction, Kozhukhova said.

“The market has been pressured by the ongoing sanctions rhetoric from Western countries, general worsening of conditions on the global financial markets, and the absence of at least some signs of potential easing of the geopolitical tension around the Ukrainian crisis,” Finam analyst Igor Dodonov said.

Oil company RussNeft jumped more than 12% thanks to the release of solid financial results, with the net profit tripling to 17.95 billion rubles and revenue doubling to 88.73 billion rubles, as calculated under Russian Accounting Standards.

Real estate developer Samolyot and precious metals producer Polymetal were the loss leaders, falling about 11% and 7%, respectively.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.42	116.97	6.799
Lukoil	-3.67	3828	6.356
Gazprom	-1.09	208	6.060
Yandex	+2.79	1692	1.826
Magnit	-0.66	4170	1.510

(74.9990 rubles – U.S. $1)

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