Russian stocks decline amid pessimistic foreign background

MOSCOW, Jul 14 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market demonstrated a fifth consecutive session of losses on Thursday amid a further fall of commodity prices, including crude oil, and persisting concerns about global economic recession, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.50% to 2,063.30 and the RTS decreased 0.57% to 1,113.97.

“The Russian stock market’s MOEX Russia Index continued to hit the lowest levels since February, but managed to stay above the 2,050 mark waiting for new drivers for further movement,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Sales also persisted on foreign stock markets due to the threat of a global economic recession. The concerns also pushed commodity prices downward, she added.

Alexei Golovinov, chief analyst at PSB Bank, said that the MOEX Russia Index tried to recover in the first part of the trading session, but then reversed, and closed lower for the fifth time in a row.

Raw materials exporters were again among the worst performers, including energy producers, almost all of which demonstrated a decline on weakening crude prices, he added. Independent gas producer Novatek was an exclusion rising 1.14%.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-0.78	184.55	5.409
Sberbank	-0.08	125.9	5.274
Lukoil	-1.03	3608	2.217
Norilsk Nickel	+0.67	15302	1.691
Rosneft	-1.73	315.45	1.121

(58.5322 rubles – U.S. $1)

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