Russian stocks correct down due to weaker oil, technical cues

MOSCOW, Jan 19 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market corrected from record highs on Friday driven down by weakening oil prices and technical reasons, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index sagged 0.48% to 2,286.33 after testing its all-time high of 2,306.71 at opening, while the RTS dropped 0.65% to 1,270.92.

“The MOEX Russia Index traded about 1% lower as the oil market cooled in the past few days and after it had reached the highest mark of 2,300… technical indicators signal that the benchmark is overbought so a downward correction is logical,” senior analyst at Zerich Capital Management Viktor Markov said.

Forex Club analyst Irina Rogova said that the market was discouraged by the oil price correction triggered by the International Energy Agency’s forecast that the United States’ crude output may reach a record 10.4 million barrels per day in 2018.

Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy Systems (FGC UES) was among the gain leaders on the news that the company plans to allocate 50% of its profit to dividends. The stock added 8.37% to 0.18 rubles.

Diamond miner ALROSA surged 2.15% to 83 rubles on expectation of auctions to sell its non-core assets.

Steel maker Severstal rose 1.79% to 953 rubles thanks to a sound output report for October-December and 2017.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.24%	242.45	9.462
Gazprom	-0.81%	149.13	5.833
Lukoil	-0.77%	3825.5	2.543
FGC UES	+8.37%	0.18	2.418
Magnit	-0.4%	6240	2.063

(56.5892 rubles – U.S. $1)

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