Russian stock market falls on profit taking, weak ruble

MOSCOW, Jul 19 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market decreased on Wednesday amid profit taking and a falling ruble, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.38% to 2,943.43 and the RTS decreased 0.96% to 1,015.13.

“There were no important corporate news today. At the same time, the news background was generally favorable for growth. Oil prices were growing, as well as global markets. It is not excluded that the current correction is connected with profit taking on the back of relative inactivity on the market,” Sofya Kirsanova, portfolio manager at managing company Pervaya, said.

According to Freedom Finance Global’s leading analyst Natalya Milchakova, the closing of dividend gaps by large Russian corporations caused corrective movement on the Russian market, while weakening of the ruble and tense geopolitical background also put pressure on quotations.

Dmitry Babin, stock market expert at BCS World of Investment, said that the tax period has so far only restrained the ruble from weakening more seriously. Despite the increase in the supply of foreign currency by exporters, the demand for it remains stably high, which may cause a new wave of ruble weakening after the peak of fiscal payments next week, he also said.

The Russian stock market showed moderate negative dynamics by the end of main trading on Wednesday, this time not receiving significant support from certain stocks and the ruble, Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

The shares of TGC-1 outperformed the market on investors’ expectations of the company’s strong financial results for January–June.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
TGC-1	+12.62	0.01205	8.026
Sberbank	-0.2	246.28	6.614
Transneft	-10.19	126000	6.348
Gazprom	-1.06	173.04	4.946
Magnit	-0.78	5638.5	4.046

(90.6906 rubles – U.S. $1)

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