Russian stocks ease prior to US Federal Reserve meeting

MOSCOW, Jun 17 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market increased in the first part of the day on Monday, but failed to consolidate at the level as investors are careful prior to the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for Wednesday, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.18% to 2,734.31 and the RTS eased 0.01% to 1,340.90.

“The Russian stock market failed to consolidate in the green territory (following a rise in the first part of the session), which may point to a threat of further correction… From the fundamental point of view, the market is running around in circles with humble growth attempts,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Bulls still hope to get profit and have not started profit-taking yet thanks to a stable foreign background. Investors are waiting for a further monetary policy decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve, whose meeting is slated for Wednesday, she added.

Power company Inter RAO was again among the top performers on high dividend hopes, adding 5.95% to 4.73 rubles.

Steel giant Severstal was among the biggest losers sliding 5.48% to 1,059.6 rubles following the ex-dividend date.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.42	237.8	8.036
Gazprom	-0.73	229.81	7.489
Lukoil	+0.22	5190	4.035
ALROSA	+2.15	86.93	2.817
Rosneft	+0.02	408.1	2.142

(64.4326 rubles – U.S. $1)

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