Russian stocks decrease as traders take profit at quarter end

MOSCOW, Mar 31 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market decreased on Friday as investors were taking profit at the end of the quarter, and the negative sentiment was reinforced by a common opinion that the ruble is overvalued, analysts said.

The MICEX decreased 1.28% to 1,995.90 and the RTS fell 2.07% to 1,113.76.

“On the last day of the quarter, investors prefer taking profit everywhere,” Otkritie Broker analyst Andrei Kochetkov said.

“We think, the weakness of the Russian market is caused on the one hand, by some concerns by global investors over the dynamics of developing markets in general and on the other hand, by strengthening of the ruble,” Alfa-Capital analyst Andrei Shenk said.

Sofya Kirsanova, an analyst at managing company Raiffeisen Capital, said that the trading session was uneventful.

Oil prices changed little, fluctuating between U.S. $51.9 and $52.2 per barrel. U.S. stock market futures and Asian markets mainly decreased.

Surgutneftegas’s preferred shares were among the outsiders after the company published a financial report under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS). Kirsanova said that the company unsurprisingly finished 2016 with a net loss, which means that dividends for preferred shares will equal the common stock one and the dividend yield will be small.

Retailers were growing as consumer confidence returned to positive dynamics in Russia in January–March, according to a report by Gfk, Kirsanova said.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Friday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-2.26	159.80	5.095
Gazprom	-0.46	127.90	3.715
Lukoil	-0.03	2981.00	1.592
Rosneft	-1.58	323.50	1.442
ALROSA	-2.72	91.01	1.117

(56.3779 rubles – U.S. $1)

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