Russian stocks drop amid falling oil, lack of growth drivers

MOSCOW, Sep 24 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks decreased on Tuesday dragged by falling oil prices and finding no new growth drivers, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index lost 1.11% to 2,754.53 and the RTS Index fell 1.07% to 1,358.80.

“The MOEX Russia Index and the RTS Index went negative by the end of trading on Tuesday having failed to find drivers to continue the upward movement,” Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Trading in the U.S. opened with growth of three main indices, which were trading mixed at the end of the Russian session. After growth attempts during the day, trading in Europe was on a pessimistic note, the analyst said.

Oil prices accelerated decline by the end of the day and were losing around 1.5%. Investors again focused on concerns about demand and a slowdown in the global economy, and the issue of supply disruptions in Saudi Arabia became secondary, Kozhukhova said.

Power producer Wholesale Generating Compay-2 (WGC-2) and fertilizer maker PhosAgro were among outsiders, losing 3.43% and 2.46%, respectively.

Multi-industry holding Sistema and gold producer Polymetal were among growth leaders, adding 1.12% and 0.92%, respectively.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.96	227.50	9.973
Gazprom	-1.15	227.70	5.118
Lukoil	-1.52	5337.50	3.699
VTB	+0.01	0.042075	2.596
Norilsk Nickel	-1.3	16096.00	2.121

(63.9453 rubles – U.S. $1)

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