Russian stocks decrease as Trump's speech disappoints investors

MOSCOW, Nov 13 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market fell on Wednesday as a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump leaved investors unsure about the result of negotiations with China, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.59% to 2,933.89, and the RTS index decreased 0.79% to 1,437.85.

“Yesterday’s speech by U.S. President Donald Trump did not send clear signals about the progress in the U.S.–China negotiations process. Albeit Trump said that the first stage of the trade agreement could be signed soon, he threatened to raise the duties on Chinese imports if the negotiations fall through. Besides, the U.S. leader criticized again the foreign trade policy of China, calling it a scam,” BCS Broker expert Dmitry Babin said.

He said that the Trump’s rhetoric disappointed investors worldwide, while escalation of protests in Hong Kong added to their pessimism.

Hong Kong’s protesters gathered at universities with bows and arrows and brought to a halt many metro stations, throwing the city into a maelstrom.

Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said that the European markets also traded in the red zone ahead of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve System (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell, who does not seem to be willing to promise a further key rate cut.

The oil prices fell on expectations of U.S. crude reserves growth and a global demand decrease, Kochetkov said.

Kochetkov said that Rostelecom sagged 3.05% after refusing to pay interim dividends in 2019 as the company accumulated funds for consolidation with Tele2.

Polymetal and Polyus grew 2.77% and 1.27% respectively on the back of the disappointment with the U.S.–China talks, he said, adding that the other traditional safe havens of the energy sector and agriculture were the market leaders.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Gazprom	-2.12	251.8	22.211
Sberbank	-1.11	237.21	7.473
VTB	+0.7	0.04733	3.331
Norilsk Nickel	-1.25	17422	3.210
Lukoil	+0.28	6050	3.191

(63.8530 rubles – U.S. $1)

End