Russian stocks edge down following crude, foreign stock markets

MOSCOW, Apr 24 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged down on Friday discouraged by decreasing oil prices and European markets, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 1.44% to 2,562.03 and the RTS dropped 1.67% to 1,081.32.

“The Russian stock market demonstrated a decline on a negative external background. Energy prices encouraged sales in Russian stocks as the nearest Brent oil futures failed to consolidate above U.S. $22 per barrel. Besides, the domestic market was pressured by the dynamics of Western bourses,” senior analyst at Promsvyazbank Bogdan Zvarich.

European stock exchanges lost up to 1.5%, and the major U.S. benchmarks Dow Jones and S&P500 stayed flat in the first hours of trading, he added.

Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said that bulls preferred to take profit due to wariness ahead of another busy week of corporate reporting and macroeconomic statistics.

Oil companies were among the biggest losers as they followed crude prices. Rosneft and Lukoil lost more than 3%.

Gold producer Polyus and power company Enel Russia outperformed the market adding 1.20% and 0.22%, respectively.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	-1.06	188.91	10.472
Lukoil	-3.2	4745.5	8.876
Gazprom	-1.6	185.71	6.847
Norilsk Nickel	-0.33	20150	5.492
Rosneft	-3.28	324	5.409

(75.1290 rubles – U.S. $1)

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