Russian stocks can grow as Foreign Ministry rules out war

MOSCOW, Jan 28 (PRIME) -- The key trading session on the Russian stock market will likely open higher on Friday after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out a war with Ukraine, analysts said.

"The domestic market demonstrated dramatic growth yesterday,” Andrei Vernikov, head of the investment analysis and education department at investment company Univer Capital, said.

“The Foreign Ministry signaled that the U.S. and NATO response to the security guarantees is a document worth working with. The negotiations will continue. Besides, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia sees even a thought about a war with Ukraine unacceptable."

Bogdan Zvarich, senior analyst at financial supermarket Banki.ru, said that in the morning, the foreign markets recovered after Thursday’s decline triggered by the U.S. Federal Reserve System’s comment.

The Asian markets grew by 2.3%, the U.S. stocks futures added about 0.7%. The closest Brent futures grew by 0.6% to about U.S. $88.7 per barrel, which forms a positive background for the start of the main Russian session.

Zvarich said that later in the day, the market will watch for Germany's  gross domestic product release for October–December 2021 and the consumer sentiment index of the University of Michigan.

Geopolitical uncertainty persists, and some investors would like to take profit before the weekend, he added.

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