Russian stocks decrease on sanctions threats exchange

MOSCOW, Oct 17 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks fell Monday on the back of media reports, statements by officials and rumors, surrounding a possible scale-up of sanctions against Moscow and its response, which was partially balanced by rising oil prices, analysts said.

The MICEX fell 0.48% to 1,956.95, and the RTS decreased 0.58% to 977.30.

“Besides the external background, the market is pressurized by the news flow. According to German media, Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to convince E.U. countries to toughen the sanctions against Russia due to the Syrian events,” Finam analyst Timur Nigmatullin said.

On October 15, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported that Germany’s Merkel plans to suggest that the E.U. toughen anti-Russian sanctions. U.S. President Barack Obama then promised to support Merkel in her decision. On Monday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia will not leave the threats unanswered.

Growing oil market futures helped Russian stocks to offset the morning losses on the back of the sanctions news, Vitaly Manzhos, a senior analyst at Bank Obrazovanie, said.

Fitch improved its outlook for Russia’s credit rating to stable from negative, which was also a positive factor for Russian securities, Andrei Kochetkov, an analyst at Otkritie Broker, said.

Rosneft’s shares plunged on the news that the oil firm is purchasing India’s Essar Oil Limited immediately after closing a deal to buy Russian oil company Bashneft. Investors are worried over a steep spending growth by the company, Manzhos said.

Surgutneftegas was one of the market leaders as a traditional safe haven, Manzhos said. The preferred shares rose 0.15% to 30.54 rubles per share.

Companies which have coal assets, Raspadskaya and Mechel restarted their growth. “We seem to be witnessing a speculative upside, connected with a medium-term increase of the world prices on coking coal,” Manzhos said. Raspadskaya grew 4.99% to 59.7 rubles and Mechel increased 4.25% to 93 rubles per share.

Pharmstandard was increasing on the information that the key shareholder wants to organize a buyout, Kochetkov said. The company closed 2.31% higher at 1,019 rubles.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.18	146.46	6.234
Gazprom	-0.46	135.57	2.010
Rosneft	-1.65	348	1.592
Norilsk Nickel	-1.49	9250	1.384
Lukoil	-1.11	3030	1.336

(62.9934 rubles – U.S. $1)

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