Russian stocks can rise as external background supports market

MOSCOW, Sep 30 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market is likely to open with a slight increase on Thursday as the external background still favors purchases at the beginning of the day, analysts said.

“The external background signals a restart of growth of the majority of blue chips this morning, as futures for the U.S. indices are gaining by about 0.5%, and prices for commercial and precious metals are also in the green zone. The oil price slightly fell as compared with the Wednesday closure, but it remains relatively high at U.S. $77.8 per barrel,” Alor Broker’s senior analyst Alexei Antonov said.

The negative dynamics of oil prices is caused by a recovery of production in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida, and it is a short-term factor. It is possible that oil prices will get closer to $80 on Thursday, Antonov said.

At the same time, the long-term outlook on shares of Norilsk Nickel worsened as tycoon Vladimir Potanin spoke about a necessity to spend more money on investment and social projects than on dividends. It is unlikely that the shares will outperform the market in the near future, he said.

But Vasily Karpunin, head of the information and analytics content department of BCS World of Investment, said that the background for the market was mixed on Thursday morning.

“The U.S. stock indices fell on Wednesday after closure of our main session, the Asian markets are seeing a mixed dynamics. The futures for the S&P 500 index are rising by 0.45%, while the Brent oil price is losing 0.4% to slightly lower than $78 per barrel,” he said.

Nevertheless, the MOEX Russia Index may start the Thursday trade with a slight increase if the external background remains the same, taking into account the results of the Wednesday evening trade, Karpunin said.

At the same time, the external background is still concerning. A threat that the situation on the Western bourses will worsen is relevant, he said.

An increase of inflation in Russia is a negative factor for ruble shares, as it could prompt the central bank to raise its key rate further, he said.

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