Russian stocks edge down on profit-taking, negative environment

MOSCOW, Oct 26 (PRIME) -- The Russian stock market edged down on Thursday as investors preferred to take profit near local highs, and the market was additionally pressured by a negative foreign environment, analysts said.

The MOEX Russia Index fell 1.27% to 3,223.89 and the RTS decreased 1.71% to 1,084.78.

“The Russian stock market reached a deep minus zone at the end of the trading session on Thursday as investors were taking profit from major shares near local highs,” Veles Broker analyst Yelena Kozhukhova said.

Securities of agricultural producer RusAgro, metals and mining group Mechel, realty developer LSR, power company TGC-1, and second largest lender VTB Bank were among the biggest losers falling by over 3% in correction after previous growth.

Kozhukhova said that the external background was relatively negative with crude prices losing around 1.5% in expectation of news from the Middle East, and the core U.S. and European stock exchanges trading lower.

Management company Alfa-Capital’s senior trader Vladislav Silayev said that the ruble decreased as the peak of the tax payment period is over, and investors are likely to look for a balancing point of the exchange rate.

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

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Mechel	-5.5	273.57	21.224
Lukoil	-2.79	7230	19.581
Sberbank	-1.36	270	14.609
Yandex	-1.45	2697.4	4.480
VTB Bank	-2.82	0.02565	3.768

(93.1507 rubles – U.S. $1)

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