Russian stocks edge down as oil price, Western bourses seen lower

MOSCOW, Jun 20 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market spent the day in the negative territory on Tuesday amid declining oil prices and sales on external stock exchanges, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 0.40% to 2,803.69 and the RTS decreased 1.08% to 1,042.91.

“The Russian stock market showed a deeper downward correction at the end of the trading session on the back of a worsening foreign background, profit-taking from blue chips, and the weakening ruble,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Foreign bourses stayed in the negative territory ahead of a news conference with U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose comments can accelerate profit-taking at a global level after reaching local highs, she added. Tightening of the Fed’s policy mirrors higher risks of a possible global economy’s recession.

Kozhukhova also said that the Brent oil price was losing around 1.5–2.5% to below the support line of U.S. 75.50 during the day.

Managing company Pervaya analyst Ivan Kapustyansky agreed that the negative movement of the Russian stock market was linked to lower crude prices and sales on foreign stock exchanges.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-0.37%	241.39	8.225
Samolet	+5.34%	3272	5.010
Lukoil	-0.75%	5155	4.787
Polyus	+3.1%	10979.5	3.798
Magnit	+0.16%	4893	3.669

(83.9866 rubles – U.S. $1)

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