Russian stocks decline with pace curbed by eastern forum statements

MOSCOW, Sep 7 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market moderately decreased on Wednesday amid the oil price going down below U.S. $90 per barrel, with correction being slowed down thanks to a number of statements made by officials at the Eastern Economic Forum, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index decreased by 0.98% to 2,201.57, and the RTS index fell by 0.70% to 1,243.70.

“The speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin … has become the leading news of the day. … This statement (forecast for a 2% GDP fall in 2022) together with rather optimistic speeches of Russian ministers and CEOs of large corporations contributed to the slowdown of correction,” Freedom Finance Global analyst Natalya Milchakova said.

The price of Brent oil fell by 3.16% to U.S. $89.9 per barrel. The intense drop was caused by news lockdowns in a number of major cities in China, as well as concerns about a recession in the E.U., she said.

Alexei Golovinov, chief analyst at PSB Bank, said that investors took a wait-and-see position after Tuesday’s profit taking, which can be seen in a significant fall in the volume of trade. The figures reduced much not only in comparison with Tuesday's data, but also with the average data for the last five trading sessions.

Aeroflot closed by 3.07% higher on the news that it signed a letter of intent to get lease of 339 national aircraft in 2023–2030 from UAC for 1 trillion rubles.

The stocks of Ashinsky Metallurgical Works were the growth leader rising 19.23%, which can be attributed to the absence of sanctions against it and expected measures of state support for the metals industry, Milchakova said.

RussNeft fell by 9.26% making it the loss leader after the closing of the shareholder register for participation in another annual general meeting, she said.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.27	136.86	8.339
Gazprom	-1.81	241.55	7.675
Lukoil	-2.75	4420	3.622
Novatek	+1.22	1178	2.304
Rosneft	+0.07	375.95	1.991

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