Russian stocks drop dragged by falling oil, negative moods abroad

MOSCOW, Jun 4 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks decreased on Thursday after three days of growth dragged by negative moods on foreign floors and falling oil prices amid uncertainty about the future of the OPEC+ deal, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index lost 2.29% to 2,766.26 and the RTS dropped 3.42% to 1,257.31.

“On Thursday, the Russian stock market was under pressure, both due to external and internal factors. Sales in our shares were facilitated by the situation on the energy market, where the nearest Brent crude futures retreated below U.S. $39.5 per barrel. Additional pressure on our market was made by the dynamics of Western stock exchanges. In Europe, main indices were falling within 0.8% by the evening, while in the U.S., after first hours of trading, Dow Jones and S&P500 were losing 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively,” Promsvyazbank chief analyst Bogdan Zvarich said.

Shares of multi-industry holding Sistema jumped 6.01% on rumors about a possible sale of around 30% in online store Ozon to top lender Sberbank, Veles Capital analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said. Hydropower giant RusHydro was also among growth leaders, adding 1.55% on solid financial results for January–March.

Metals giant Norilsk Nickel’s shares dropped 8.36% on news about an accident at the TETs-3 plant in Norilsk, which led to a spill of diesel fuel. Aluminum giant UC RUSAL, as a shareholder of Norilsk Nickel, lost 3.86%.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Norilsk Nickel	-8.36	20000.00	34.744
Sberbank	-3.79	213.10	26.485
Gazprom	-3.14	201.46	14.710
Lukoil	-2.15	5430.00	8.108
Polyus	+1.15	10688.50	4.246

(68.3413 rubles – U.S. $1)

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